New Delhi, Nov 8 (NationPress) Ravinder Singh kicked off the Indian team's campaign on a high note during the inaugural day of the International Shooting Sport Federation (ISSF) World Championship Rifle/Pistol in Cairo, securing a gold medal in the first event, the men’s 50m pistol. Following this, two-time Olympian and Asian champion Elavenil Valarivan earned a bronze medal, marking her first individual world medal, in a thrilling women’s 10m air rifle final dominated by reigning Olympic champion Ban Hyojin from Korea.

Ravinder achieved a score of 569 in the men’s free pistol category, placing him at the top among 47 competitors. He also teamed up with Kamaljeet (540, 20th) and Yogesh Kumar (537, 24th) to claim team silver. Elavenil posted an impressive 633.4 in the qualification round of the women’s 10m air rifle, securing the fifth spot, while Olympic champion Ban captured the eighth position with a score of 633.0.

China’s Han Jiayu, who was dethroned by Ban, led the qualification with a remarkable 635.1. Wang Zifei, the world record holder from China, also made it to the finals, ultimately earning the silver medal, as reported by the National Rifle Association of India (NRAI).

Elavenil was sharp from the get-go, beginning the final with a score of 10.8. With consistent high scores, she was in fourth position after the first two series. As the single shots progressed, she briefly shared the lead with Ban after her 14th shot.

As the finals intensified, Elavenil took the lead for the first time with a perfect 10.9 on her 17th shot, but fell back to third with a 10.0 on her 19th. A score of 10.6 on her 20th secured her medal, though Ban and Wang continued to rise in points. The final scores had the Koreans at 255.0 and the Chinese just one point behind. “This was definitely one of the most intense finals I’ve experienced,” stated Elavenil post-competition.

Additionally, she earned another medal today, contributing to the women’s 10m air rifle team bronze alongside Meghana Sajjanar (631.2, 17th) and Shreya Agrawal (628.7, 33rd).

In other events, Anish competed in the men’s 25m rapid-fire pistol qualifications, scoring 291 in stage one, while Sameer and Adarsh Singh scored 286 and 285 respectively. They will return on Sunday for stage two, where the top six will advance to the medal round.

In the women’s 50m pistol, Priyanka Patel finished sixth with a score of 533, while Sakshi Suryavanshi and Parisha Gupta placed ninth and eleventh with scores of 532 and 531 respectively.

The men’s 10m air rifle final is scheduled for later today, with Arjun Babuta favored to qualify for the eight-man final, having shot 632.5 in the initial qualification round.