Rudrankksh Patil in action at the Buenos Aires WC.
| Photo Credit: ISSF
Former World champion Rudrankksh Patil beat multiple gold medallist Istvan Peni by 1.2 points to clinch the air rifle gold in the shooting World Cup in Buenos Aires, Argentina, on Sunday.
In a thrilling final, the 21-year-old Rudrankksh asserted his class in the climax as he delivered 10.4 and 10.8 on the last two shots to retain his supremacy against the seven-time World Cup gold medallist Istvan, who had earlier won the rifle 3-position gold. Istvan also shot 10.6 and 10.6 on the last two shots, and it was the earlier lead that kept Rudrankksh in front, after the 24-shot final.
While Rudrankksh added to his earlier individual World Cup gold won in Cairo in 2023, Arjun Babuta did well to top qualification with 634.5. However, Arjun, who had placed fourth in the Paris Olympics, finished seventh. Incidentally, Rudrankksh had shot the second best qualification score of 633.7.
It was the second gold for India in the ongoing World Cup following the one won by Sift Kaur Samra in women’s rifle 3-position event.
India was joint No.1 with China on the medals table with two gold, a silver and a bronze. USA followed with two gold and a silver, while Hungary has so far won a gold and a silver, both through Istvan.
The results: 10m air rifle: Men: 1. Rudrankksh Patil 252.9 (633.7), 2. Istvan Peni (Hun) 251.(630.3), 3. Marcelo Gutierrez (Arg) 230.1 (631.4); 7. Arjun Babuta 144.9 (634.5); 29. Hriday Hazarika 624.6; RPO: Kiran Jadhav 631.5; Divyansh Singh Panwar 628.0.
Published – April 07, 2025 04:40 pm IST
