Saurabh smashes world record to win gold; secures Olympic quota

TIL Desk Sports/ Sixteen-year-old Saurabh Chaudhary beat the men standing in his way to claim gold with a new record in the ISSF World Cup in New Delhi on Sunday, securing India’s third Olympic quota, but there was disappointment in store for Manu Bhaker.

Unfazed by a field comprising seasoned campaigners, Chaudhary smashed the men’s 10m air pistol world record in his maiden senior World Cup appearance, at the season-opening International Shooting Sport Federation event. Qualification topper Manu, however, finished fifth in the women’s 25m pistol event after starting strongly.

Asian Games and Youth Olympics gold medallist Chaudhary ended the event with a total score of 245. Dami Mikec of Serbia was second on the podium with a score of 239.3, while the bronze medal was bagged by 2008 Olympic champion Wei Pang of China, who managed 215.2.