Zoraver ends fourth in trap

Zoraver Singh Sandhu missed a medal in men’s trap to round off a disappointing second day for India in the World Cup at the Dr Karni Singh Range on Saturday.

In windy conditions, the 39-year-old finished fourth with 28 hits in the final. Italy’s Simone Ambrosio (45) won the gold with a world record following new framing of rules, while compatriot and three-time Olympic silver medallist Giovanni Pellielo (43) won the silver. Alberto Fernandez (33) of Spain was third.

Zoraver, who had also finished fourth in the qualification (118), made a strong start in the final. He led at one stage, before errors pegged him back. The Indian then recovered in the fourth series of five shots, nailing all his targets, climb to the third place. With Fernandez snapping at his feet following a few misses in the seventh series, Zoraver came close to winning the bronze medal when he hit four targets. He, however, missed the fifth and the last to undo his hard work.

Olympian Kynan Chenai (113) and Birendeep Sodhi (108) missed the final cut in men’s trap.

In the men’s 25M rapid fire, 22-year-old rookie Neeraj Kumar (579) was the only one to make it to the final from the Indian trio comprising Gurpreet Singh (573) and Harpreet Singh (568).

Neeraj, however, floundered in the final to become the first to be eliminated. His scores of 2, 2, 2, 3 (9) from the four series of five shots hastened his exit. The event was dominated by Chinese shooters and for the third time in two days Chinese national anthem echoed in the final hall. Lao Jiajie (31) won the gold with compatriot Lin Junmin (31) taking the silver following a shootoff, and Azerbaijan’s Ruslan Lunev (23) settling for bronze.

The mixed doubles event, making its debut in World Cup saw China taking gold and bronze medals. Buhan Song and Wu Mingyang came first with Shi Mengyao and Sui Gengcheng finished third.  However, the mixed being considered a test event, its medals won’t be counted.

Results: Men’s Trap: Simone Ambrosio (Ita, 45); 1, Giovanni Pellielo (Ita, 43);2, Alberto Fernandez (Esp, 33).

Men: 25M rapid pistol: Lao Jiajie (Chn, 31), 1, Lin Junmin (Chn, 31), 2, Ruslan Lunev (Aze, 23) 3.

Mixed doubles: Buhan Song/ Wu Mingyang(Chn) 416.8, 1; Atsushi Shimada/ Ayano Shimizu (Jpn) 414.8, 2;  Shi Mengyao/ Sui Gengcheng(Chn) 360.1, 3.