New Delhi, March 27 – Olympian Maheshwari Chauhan shot a 69 on the first day of the qualification round at the Tangier Shooting Club in Morocco, keeping her in contention for a spot in the final of the women’s skeet competition at the first International Shooting Sport Federation (ISSF) Shotgun World Cup in Tangier of the year.
Starting early on Friday morning, Maheshwari scored 21 in the first round but came back strongly, finishing with two 24s, which placed her seventh on the leaderboard. The top eight will advance to the final on Saturday after two more rounds of qualification are played.
Her teammates, Darshna Rathore and Yashasvi Rathore, scored 64 each, placing them 25th and 26th, respectively, one ahead of reigning Olympic champion Francisca Crovetto Chadid of Chile, who also scored the same. Emmanouela Katzouraki of Greece currently leads the field with 72 hits.
In the men's skeet, Parampal Singh Guron was the best Indian, scoring 70 (25, 22, 23). Young Jyotiraditya Singh Sisodia scored 67 (23, 22, 22), while Man Singh ended the day with 64 (21, 21, 22). All three men will need to perform well on Saturday to make the top eight.
The competition features a highly competitive field consisting of Olympic and World Champions. India has entered the maximum quota of six athletes in both men and women, along with two shooters each in both men and women, who will be competing for ranking points.
The women's field includes stars such as reigning Olympic champion Francisca Crovetto Chadid of Chile, who is returning to international competition after maternity leave, alongside reigning world champion Samantha Simonton of the United States. Diana Bacosi of Italy, a double Olympic and double world champion, also participates, as do former world champion Dania Jo Vizzi of the USA, Kazakhstan's world championship medallist Assem Orynbay, among others, making it a highly competitive field.
In the men's event, an 82-strong field has entered the competition. Emil Kjeldgaard Petersen of Denmark, who won bronze at the 2025 World Championship, heads the list. Last season's World Cup finals winner Christian Elliot of the USA, Italy's double Olympic champion Gabriele Rossetti, Tokyo silver medallist Jesper Hansen, also of Denmark, and former world champion and Asian Games champion Masoud Saleh Al-Athba of Qatar are also among the top names in the competition. Angad Vir Singh Bajwa, who represented India until last year, will also be competing for Canada for the first time.