ISSF World Cup Changwon | Arjun Babuta wins gold in 10m air rifle, stuns Tokyo 2020 silver medalist

ISSF World Cup Changwon | Arjun Babuta wins gold in 10m air rifle, stuns Tokyo 2020 silver medalist

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A file picture of Arjun Babuta (Left).

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(Twitter)

Arjun Babuta of India earned the gold medal at the International Shooting Sport Federation (ISSF) World Cup stage on Monday, upsetting Lucas Kozeniesky 17-9 in the final. After the first seven single-shot series, the 23-year-old Indian surged to a 10-4 lead in the final, and eventually win.

The victor of each series receives two points in the final, while points are shared in the event of a tie, and the first to 16 wins the match. Lucas Kozeniesky attempted a late comeback, but Arjun Babuta hit high 10s consistently in the closing rounds to earn India's first gold at the current ISSF World Cup Changwon 2022.

Arjun Babuta also won the eight-man ranking round with a score of 261.1, beating off Lucas Kozeniesky's 260.4. Sergey Richter of Israel took bronze with a score of 259.9, while Paarth Makhija of India finished fourth with a score of 258.1. Babuta qualified second, behind Sergey Richter, for the eight-man ranking round on Sunday. Paarth Makhija finished fifth out of a field of 53 competitors. Shahu Tushar Mane, another Indian shooter in the contention, finished 30th.

This was India's first medal under Thomas Farnik, the country's new national foreign rifle coach. The Austrian was appointed immediately before the ISSF World Cup in Changwon. Meanwhile, none of the Indian shooters qualified for the finals of the women's 10m air rifle event. Individual air pistol and trap shooting finals will take place on Tuesday.

India sent 32 participants to the ISSF Changwon World Cup, which included over 430 athletes from 44 countries. The shooting World Cup concludes on July 21.

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