Sakshi Padekar’s World Cup Debut Ends in Seventh Place

New Delhi, May 28: Making her senior World Cup debut in Munich, Sakshi Padekar delivered a composed performance to finish seventh in the women’s 10m air rifle final. The young Indian qualifier posted the third-highest score of 635.1, securing her spot behind China’s Wang Jifei and South Korea’s Ban Hyo-jin. In the medal match, Serbia’s Andjelija Stevanovic produced a dramatic 252.3 to claim gold, with Japan’s Nobata Misaki taking silver just 0.3 behind.

Sakshi started confidently, scoring 10.5, 9.7, and 9.8 before steadying with 10.8 and 10.7. Her second series of five tens or better kept her inside the top six until the 14th shot. A shoot-off against France’s Oceane Muller ultimately decided seventh place, with Muller prevailing 10.7 to 10.5. The Indian finished on 145.2 points.

Elavenil Valarivan and Arya Borse placed 19th and 63rd among 146 competitors. On the men’s side, Anish Bhanwala sits 18th after the opening stage of 25m rapid-fire pistol and still has a chance to reach the final. Three more finals remain on the penultimate day of the Munich World Cup.