Indian shooter Rhythm Sanwan has broken a 29-year-old world record in the qualifying rounds of the women’s 25m pistol event at the ISSF World Cup Rifle/Pistol event. With a score of 595 points, she topped the preliminaries and broke a world record previously set by Diana Iorgova of Bulgaria in 1994. She has since tied the record twice. However, Rhythm missed out on a medal and finished eighth.
At the same event, China’s Fong Xixuan won gold in the event with 38 hits in the final. Meanwhile, India recorded a medal-less day for the first time at the Games. Rhythm’s teammates Esha Singh and Manu scored 582 and 578 respectively, finishing 13th and 27th. Abidnya Ashok Patil recorded 576 points while competing for ranking points.
Rhythm also broke the junior women’s 25m pistol world record previously set 34 years ago. India’s Manu Bakeru matched that record at the 2018 Asian Games in Jakarta.
In the men’s 50m Rifle 3 Position, three Indian candidates, Aishwari Pratap Singh Tomar, Akil Sheoran, and Swapnir Ksareh, fell short of the Top 8. Meanwhile, Pankaj Mukeja is shooting India’s Vijayveer Sidhu, who is currently the top scorer with 293 points in the first round of precision qualifying for the men’s 25m Rapid Fire Pistol (RFP).