ISSF World Cup: Manu Bhaker, Chain Singh reach finals, miss out on medals

Indian shooters Manu Bhaker and Chain Singh reached the finals of their respective events at the ISSF World Cup in Munich on Wednesday but fell short of a podium finish. Bhaker finished sixth in the 25m pistol event, while Chain Singh placed seventh in the men's 50m rifle 3-positions competition.Bhaker, a double Olympic bronze medalist, entered the 25m pistol final in fifth position with a combined score of 588. She shot 290 in precision and 298 in rapid fire rounds.In the medal round, Chinese shooter Sun Yujie claimed gold with 38 points while Korea's Oh Yejin and Yang Jiin secured silver and bronze with 36 and 32 points respectively. Bhaker was eliminated in the third round with 20 points.Fellow Indian shooters Esha Singh and Simranpreet Kaur Brar also competed in the event. Singh finished 11th with a score of 585, while Brar ended in 32nd place with 577 points.Chain Singh, an Asian Games medalist and recent bronze winner at the Buenos Aires World Cup, qualified for the 50m rifle 3-positions final in sixth place with 592 points. He scored 198 in kneeling, 199 in prone, and 195 in standing positions.In the finals, Chain Singh was the second competitor eliminated. Norway's Jon-Hermann Hegg won gold with 464.1 points, Individual Neutral Athlete Ilia Marsov took silver with 462 points, and Czech Republic's Jiri Privratsky secured bronze with 452 points. Other Indian participants in the 50m rifle 3-positions event included Paris Olympics bronze medalist Swapnil Kusale and Ankush Jadhav. Kusale scored 587 to finish 38th, while Jadhav placed 67th with 580 points.India had started the competition successfully on Tuesday with Elavenil Valarivan winning bronze in the women's 10m air rifle event.The competition continues on Thursday with Olympians Arjun Babuta and Sandeep Singh competing against Paris Games gold medalist Sheng Lihao in the men's 10m air pistol event. Babuta has reached four consecutive finals since the Paris Olympics, where he finished fourth.Babuta and Sheng Lihao recently competed at the Lima World Cup, where Sheng won gold and Babuta claimed silver, finishing just 0.1 points behind. Sandeep Singh, who won the 10m air pistol mixed team bronze with Bhaker at the Paris Games, has also returned to the team.In the women's 50m rifle 3-Position event, India's prospects look promising with Sift Kaur Samra, who won gold at the Argentina World Cup. Shriyanka Sadangi reached the finals in Lima, while Ashi Chouksey narrowly missed qualification in the same competition.