India’s Sonam Uttam Maskar and Olympian Elavenil Valarivan reached the women’s 10m air rifle final at the ISSF World Cup (rifle/pistol/shotgun) on Saturday, but both fell short of the podium, finishing fifth and sixth respectively. The result meant India remained on a single medal at the competition after the event, with their only podium finish so far being a silver won by Sainyam in the women’s 10m air pistol on Friday.
Maskar and Valarivan had set themselves up with strong qualification rounds, but the pair could not reproduce that form in the eight-shooter final as Chinese athletes dominated the medal positions.
Qualification promise, final-round frustration for India
Maskar, the silver medallist at the 2024 ISSF World Cup Final in New Delhi, impressed in qualification by shooting 634.3 to place second. She finished just behind China’s Du Yuchen, who topped the qualification field with 634.4.
Valarivan, a two-time Olympian and multiple World Cup gold medallist, also progressed comfortably into the final after taking sixth in qualification with 632.8.
In the final, however, the Indian duo could not match their earlier scores. Maskar exited in fifth place, and Valarivan followed in sixth, leaving India without a medal from the women’s 10m air rifle final.
At the top end of the final, China’s Du Yuchen converted her qualification lead into gold, posting 254.6 to win the first ISSF World Cup medal of her career. Japan’s Nobata Misaki secured silver, while China’s former world champion Han Jiayu took bronze, completing a double podium finish for the hosts.
While the final did not produce a medal for India, the outing still added another solid international result for Maskar, who has continued to build on her recent performances. For Valarivan, the final appearance further underlined her consistency, coming after she won two gold medals at the Asian Championships in New Delhi earlier this year.
India’s medal count at the World Cup remained at one following the event. That silver came through Sainyam in the women’s 10m air pistol, where she scored 243.4 in the final on Friday to open India’s account at the competition.
Medals table: China in front as 24 medals decided
China continued to set the pace overall at the ISSF World Cup, leading the medals table with 11 medals — four gold, three silver and four bronze. Germany and the United States were joint second with one gold and one silver each, while Great Britain and Qatar shared fourth place with one gold apiece.
India were tied for sixth position with one silver medal, alongside two other nations. In total, 24 medals had been decided across the first eight events of the competition, highlighting the early shape of the medal race as the World Cup progressed.
