New Delhi, April 5 – Indian shooting sensation Sift Kaur Samra pulled off a dramatic comeback to win her maiden individual gold medal at the ISSF World Cup in the women’s 50m rifle 3 positions (3P) event in Buenos Aires, Argentina.
The 23-year-old from Faridkot scripted history by clinching India’s first gold medal of the season-opening World Cup stage, held at the Tiro Federal Argentino de Buenos Aires shooting range late on Friday.
A Historic Victory After a Dramatic Turnaround
Despite trailing by a massive 7.2 points after the 15-shot Kneeling round, Sift bounced back brilliantly during her Prone and Standing rounds. Her composed finish saw her top the leaderboard with a score of 458.6, comfortably ahead of Germany’s Anita Mangold, who finished second with 455.3.Kazakhstan’s Arina Altukhova, a Junior World Championship medalist, claimed the bronze with 445.9, bowing out after the 44th shot.
India Rises in Medal Tally
After a quiet start on day one, India finished day two of the competition in second place on the medal table with a gold and a bronze – the latter coming from Chain Singh in the men’s 3P event. China currently leads the standings with one gold and one silver.Sift’s Path to Glory
Sift's gold came against a high-caliber field. She topped the qualifiers with a strong 590, while top contenders like reigning Olympic champion Chiara Leone and former champion Nina Christen (both from Switzerland), along with US shooter Mary Tucker and Kazakhstan's Alexandria Le, failed to make the final.Her final started shakily as she struggled in the Kneeling phase, barely hitting the 10-ring. But she found her groove in the Prone round, closing the gap with then-leader Nele Stark to 4.3 points and climbing to eighth position.
A stellar 52.3 in her first Standing series catapulted her to joint third, followed by a consistent 51.2 in the next series, which gave her the lead. She closed the final with composed shots of 10.5, 10.3, 10.5, 10.0, and 9.7, sealing a dominant win.
Raiza Dhillon in Contention for Skeet Final
In the Skeet events, four qualification rounds concluded in both men’s and women’s categories. Paris Olympian Raiza Dhillon emerged as the top Indian performer, currently placed sixth with a score of 94 (25, 22, 24, 23) — just two points off the leader.Her position keeps her in line for a spot in Saturday’s final, after one remaining qualification round.
Among others, Ganemat Sekhon stood 11th with 92, while Darshna Rathore was 18th with 89.
In men’s Skeet, Bhavtegh Gill shot 94 to sit in 18th, while Anant Jeet Singh Naruka and Gurjoat Khangurafollowed with 93 and 91, respectively. All three will face stiff competition in the final round of qualifications.
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