Bajwa-Dunn pocket bronze

India’s Angad Singh Bajwa and American Haley Dunn clinched the bronze medal in the World Cup skeet mixed doubles, a test event, at Dr Karni Singh Range on Friday.

In the final, the American combine of seasoned Kimberly Rhode, a triple Olympic champion, and Hayden Stewart beat Argentine siblings Federico and Melisa Gil 29-26 in the gold medal match.

In the bronze medal match, Bajwa and Haley shot 28 targets against the 26 of another American pairing of Robert Johnson and Caitlin Connor to clinch the third place.

The Indo-American pair finished second in their group of three in the semifinals, upstaging the Italian pairing of Gabriele Rossetti, who won the men’s skeet gold here, and Diana Bacosi, to enter the bronze medal clash.

“I had a great time shooting alongside Haley. I liked the concept. And even though, it’s a team event, you have to focus on your individual shots. I didn’t do well in the men’s skeet here, I knew where I went wrong.

“I think, today I shot a lot better. So it’s good to end the tournament on a high note,” said Bajwa, who crushed 15 out of the 16 targets, in the bronze medal contest on Friday.

Generous turn out

Bajwa and Haley had finished sixth in the qualification stage that witnessed a generous Indian participation.

Saniya Sheikh (22, 25) paired with Mairaj Ahmad Khan (22, 23) constituted the India-1 team. The duo shot a total of 92 and were placed ninth. Ganemat Sekhon (22,21) and China’s Yang Jiang (25,25) also shot a total of 92 but were placed 12th in the qualification on the basis of the count-back method.

India-2 team comprising Rashmee Rathore (19, 20) and Amrinder Cheema (23, 24) finished last with a combined score of 81 in the qualification stage.

Jasmeen Kaur (23, 20) joined hands with Zachary McBee (25, 23) of the USA, the two finishing on 16th place with a 91. Aarti Rao Singh (19, 20) and Qatar’s Hassen Ali Al Mannai (23, 24) took the penultimate 21st place in the qualifying round by scoring a total of 86.

The event also concluded their first World Cup of the season, where Indian finished fifth with five medals. China topped the table.