Sarabjot Singh shoots gold at Munich World Cup

NEW DELHI: Sarabjot Singh kicked off India's medal tally at the ISSF World Cup in Munich on Thursday by clinching gold in the men's 10m air pistol event. Competing against a reigning world champion and a four-time Olympian, the 22-year-old Indian emerged victorious.
Sarabjot shot 242.7 in the eight-man final, narrowly edging out China's Bu Shuaihang by 0.2 points.Germany's Robin Walter secured the bronze medal.
Sarabjot secured a top qualifying score of 588 to advance to the final. The competition featured reigning world champion Bowen Zhang of China, four-time Olympian Yusuf Dikec of Turkey, as well as Bu Shuaihang and Robin Walter.

In this challenging field, Sarabjot achieved a commanding pillar-to-post victory, earning his second individual ISSF World Cup medal following his breakthrough gold last year in Bhopal.
The young Indian started strong, shooting three high 10s in his first five single shots to take an early lead.
Sarabjot's consistent shooting continued, maintaining his lead until Robin Walter caught up at the end of the 14th single shot. A clutch 10.8 in his 15th shot seemed to secure the final as Walter faltered with an 8.6. After Bowen Zhang exited in fifth place, Walter managed to upset Yusuf Dikec for the bronze.
Heading into the final two shots, Sarabjot was 1.4 points ahead of Bu Shuaihang, who was steadily closing in as the pressure mounted on Sarabjot. However, Sarabjot, who had topped the selection trials for the Paris Olympics, held his nerve to secure a morale-boosting win.
Previously, Sarabjot won bronze in the 10m air pistol event at the 2023 Asian Shooting Championships in Changwon, securing India's first pistol quota for the Paris Olympics.
At the Asian Games last year, he won gold with the men's 10m air pistol team and silver in the 10m air pistol mixed team event.
(With PTI inputs)