Shooting: Raiza Dhillon Secures Fifth Place in Her World Cup Debut
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Synopsis
Raiza Dhillon made her World Cup debut, finishing fifth in women's skeet, as India secured two golds, one silver, and a bronze, closing day two second to China.
Key Takeaways
- Raiza Dhillon finishes fifth in her first World Cup final.
- India achieved a total of two golds, one silver, and one bronze.
- Kimberly Rhode won gold, leading an American sweep.
- Raiza started in 10th and advanced through impressive rounds.
- Teammate Ganemat Sekhon finished ninth.
Peru, April 17 (NationPress) Paris Olympian Raiza Dhillon achieved a remarkable milestone by reaching her inaugural World Cup final, finishing a commendable fifth in the women’s skeet event. India concluded the second day of the second leg of the International Shooting Sport Federation (ISSF) World Cup Rifle/Pistol/Shotgun with a medal tally of two golds, one silver, and one bronze, securing the second position behind China.
Raiza, a former junior world championship silver medallist and bronze medalist at last year’s Asian Championships, delivered an impressive performance in a highly competitive field. She concluded her final at the 30-shot phase of the 60-shot decider with 26 hits.
Despite her commendable effort, she could not surpass fourth-place finisher Jiang Yiting of China, a bronze medallist in the Paris Olympics mixed team event. Raiza had to contend with the challenge of starting with the highest bib number. She initially shot 19 out of her first 20 attempts to keep ahead of the second Chinese finalist, Che Yufei.
Legendary shotgun athlete Kimberly Rhode, a three-time Olympic champion and six-time Olympic medallist, clinched gold with 56 hits, leading an American sweep of the podium. Samantha Simonton fell short in a shoot-off against Rhode for gold, while former world champion Dania Jo Vizzi secured the bronze.
Kimberly’s performance at the Las Palmas range on Wednesday marked her 19th individual World Cup gold and an astounding 26th gold across various events, including double trap and mixed team skeet.
Raiza started the day in 10th place and required two outstanding rounds to secure her spot in the top six. She began with a flawless 25 and followed it with a 24, tying for sixth with Zoya Kravchenko from Kazakhstan at 117. The latter missed her second shoot-off shot, allowing the Indian shooter to claim the sixth and final position.
Teammate Ganemat Sekhon experienced a decline, beginning in sixth overall and finishing ninth with 116, while Darshna Rathore ranked further down in 15th place with 110.
