PUNE: After three consecutive fifth-place finishes in the ISSF World Cups, Divya TS didn’t want another heartbreak. On Thursday, she did everything to win that coveted gold and put an end to the past misses.
The Karnataka shooter, Divya, 27, clinched the top-spot along with Sarabjot Singh, in the 10m air pistol mixed team final at the shooting World Cup in Baku, Azerbaijan.
While Sarabjot, 21, had won a World Cup gold (Bhopal in March), it was a first for Divya. Her places two rungs below the medal bracket had come in Bhopal (twice) and once in Cairo earlier this year.
The Indian pair edged out an experienced Serbian duo of Damir Mikec (Tokyo silver medallist) and Zorana Arunovic (World Champion 2010) 16-14 in the gold medal match.
In the 15 shots that were fired in the final, Divya shot seven shots of 10.5 or above, covering up for Sarabjot, who could fire only two shots in that range.
The event has been a part of the Olympics programme since the Tokyo Games in 2021.
“I have come close to winning a medal a couple of times but was missing it. I am glad I could shoot well today to win my first World Cup medal,” Divya told TOI after the match.
Although the contest was close, Divya said she didn’t think about the past during the match. “I was thinking only about my next shot. I honestly didn’t take any pressure from my misses or the strong opponents,” she said.
The Indian duo started the final by winning the first round, but the Serbs did well to come up from being 4-6 down to leading 10-6. However, Divya’s high 10s ensured the duo bounced back to go 12-10 up. In the deciding shots after being level at 14-14, Divya hit a 9.9. But Sarabjot’s 10.6 (20.5) ensured their total was above the Serb’s aggregate of 18.9 (Zorana 8.6, Damir 10.3) to win the gold.
Tied at 10-10, the coaches took a strategic break. The Indian shooters, who looked more stable after speaking to coach Samaresh Jung. When asked what message he gave to the shooters in the break, Jung said, “They are at a level where no words of wisdom can do magic. They knew what was expected from them and they were trying to shoot well. I just asked them to focus on their basics,” Jung, a former Commonwealth Games multiple gold medallist, said.
Divya and Sarabjot had topped the qualification phase after shooting a combined score of 581 to march into the gold medal match. Another Indian pair of Esha Singh and Varun Tomar (578) finished sixth. While the top-two pairs play the gold-medal match, the third and fourth pair shoot for the bronze.
In the 10m air rifle mixed team event, India’s Tilottama Sen and Hriday Hazarika finished 17th after shooting 627.6. Ramita and Rudrankksh Patil looked off colour, ending 28th in the qualification round (626.3).
