Udhayveer Sidhu beat Olympic medalist Reitz to win ISSF World Cup gold

India’s Udhayveer Sidhu won the men’s 10m air pistol gold at the ISSF World Shooting/Pistol Championships in Cairo, Egypt on Sunday, edging Germany’s Christian Reitz by 0.5 points in a close finish. The 24-year-old shot 240.6 in the final to beat Reitz, who settled for silver with 240.1. Italy’s Paolo Monna won the bronze with a score of 219.8, according to the National Rifle Association of India (NRAI).

Udhayveer held his nerve in the closing stages of the final and produced two crucial shots to turn the match in his favour. He trailed Reitz by 0.3 points with two shots remaining, but responded with scores of 10.2 and 9.8. Reitz cleared both final attempts at 9.6, allowing the Indian shooter to take the final shot at gold.

The win was capped off by a strong performance from Udhayveer, who qualified for the eight-man final in fourth place with a total of 585 in six series. He started with scores of 99 and 98 before adding 98, 97, 97 and 96 in the remaining series.

ANTONY MATCHES THE BEST QUALIFYING SCORE

India’s Jonathan Gavin Antony, competing in the Ranking Points Only (RPO) category, scored 586, matching Monna’s highest score in the qualifiers. Among other Indian scorers, Ajendra Singh Chauhan finished 14th with 580, Olympic medalist Sarabjot Singh scored 574 to finish 31st. Kumar Yogesh, also competing in the RPO category, returned a score of 573.

Turkey’s Paris 2024 Olympic medalist Yusuf Dikec finished seventh in the final with 138.0. Greece’s Georgios Gampierakis took fourth place with 198.7, while Latvia’s Emils Vasermanis finished fifth with 177.6.

24 MEMBER INDIAN TEAM IN CAIRO

Udhayveer’s gold came during India’s campaign at the ISSF World Shooting/Pistol Championships in Cairo from October 8-16.

Olympic bronze medalists Swapnil Suresh Kusale and Sarabjot Singh lead the 24-member Indian contingent. The team includes experienced shooters as well as younger competitors and will participate in eight individual Olympic events and two mixed team events.

Udhayveer’s victory came down to the last two shots, with the Indian holding his nerve as Reitz looked to have the advantage. His performance won India the gold medal in the men’s 10m air pistol in Cairo.

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