New Delhi, April 5 (NationPress) A remarkable Sift Kaur Samra achieved an incredible come-from-behind triumph in the women’s 50m rifle 3 positions (3P) final at the Tiro Federal Argentino de Buenos Aires shooting range late on Friday evening, securing her first individual ISSF World Cup gold. This victory also marked India’s inaugural yellow medal at the season-opening world cup stage.

The world record holder was significantly 7.2 behind Anita Mangold of Germany, who led at that moment and later became the silver medalist, after 15 shots in the initial Kneeling position. However, Sift orchestrated a spectacular comeback in the second Prone and concluding Standing positions to clinch victory comfortably.

For the record, Sift finished with 458.6 at the conclusion of the 45-shot final, while Mangold ended with a score of 455.3, trailing by 3.3. Junior World Championship medalist Arina Altukhova of Kazakhstan secured third place, exiting after the 44th shot with a total of 445.9.

After not securing any medals in the first final on the first day of competition, India concluded the second competition day in second place in the standings, boasting one gold and one bronze, achieved earlier by Chain Singh in the men’s 3P event. China leads the standings with a gold and a silver.

Initially, Sift performed exceptionally well, qualifying in the top spot with a solid score of 590. Notably, reigning Olympic champion Chiara Leone and former Olympic champion Nina Christen, both from Switzerland, failed to make the top eight. Several Olympic medalists, including Alexandria Le of Kazakhstan and Mary Tucker of the US, also could not clear the qualifying round.

The finals field, as always at this level, was formidable. Among the finalists were Miao Wanru, the Cairo 2022 world champion from China, her compatriot and junior air rifle world champion Zifei Wang, and the highly talented 16-year-old Emely Jaeggi from Switzerland, alongside Altukhova. Two German participants, Mangold and Nele Stark, along with Olivia Hoffman from Austria completed the lineup.

Sift struggled initially, failing to hit the 10-ring and concluded the Kneeling position nearly out of contention. However, she found her groove in her preferred Prone position and by its end, narrowed the gap with the then-leader, now Nele Stark, to about 4.3, yet remained in eighth place.

With an impressive score of 52.3 in the first series of five Standing shots, where others faltered, Sift surged to joint third and maintained her momentum from there.

A consistent second series score of 51.2 enabled her to seize the lead for the first time, as the leaderboard shifted dramatically below her. She concluded her performance with scores of 10.5, 10.3, 10.5, 10.0, and 9.7, demonstrating a clinical display.

Four rounds of qualification also took place in the men’s and women’s Skeet competitions, where Paris Olympian Raiza Dhillon emerged as the best Indian competitor at this juncture. With one more round of 25 targets scheduled for Saturday, she is currently positioned sixth, the final qualifying spot, with a score of 94 after rounds of 25, 22, 24, and 23 respectively, just two points off the lead. Ganemat Sekhon is placed 11th with 92, while Darshna Rathore lies further back in 18th with 89.

In men’s skeet, Bhavtegh Gill shot 94 to place 18th, while Anant Jeet Singh Naruka recorded 93 and Gurjoat Khangura 91, with all three needing to elevate their performance on Saturday.

Saturday features three significant finals, starting with the women’s 25m pistol at 7:30 PM Indian Standard Time (IST), followed by the women’s skeet at 11 PM IST and men’s skeet finals at 12:30 AM IST on April 6, 2025.