New Delhi [India], March 22 (ANI): India’s 10m Air Pistol shooters Abhishek Verma and Yashaswini Deswal have attained the number one rankings after their heroics in the ongoing International Shooting Sport Federation (ISSF) World Cup Rifle/Pistol/Shotgun here at Dr. Karni Singh Shooting range.
Elavenil Valarivan also retains her spot on the Women’s 10m Air Rifle rankings, meaning three Indian shooters now hold the top spot.
“3 Indian shooters are #1. 10m Air Pistol shooters #YashaswiniDeswal & @abhishek_70007 become World #1 after their gold & bronze at the @ISSF_Shooting World Cup. Women’s 10m Air Rifle @elavalarivan retains her #1 ranking. #TOPSAthlete #Shooting,” the Sports Authority of India (SAI) tweeted.
Earlier in the day, India won a gold medal in the 10m Air Rifle Mixed team event. The pair of Divyansh Panwar and Valarivan defeated the Hungarian pair of Denes Easter and Istvan Peni 16-10 in the final.
After the achievement, Divyansh reflected on the difficulties of living in a bio-secure bubble amid the ongoing coronavirus pandemic while Elavenil spoke about having an “added advantage”. She said there was “no pressure at all”, giving credit to her mentor.
“See, there is not much impact but yes, something is there to feel because the environment has changed. You have to be under all kinds of restrictions, you have to be in a bio bubble, and you can’t go out. So, a little bit of impact comes to mind but it doesn’t create problems or difference in the match,” Divyansh told reporters.
Talking about the competition, he said: “I always keep checking what my competitor is doing. I check everything and I think it’s good for me, for my future. It’s good to learn.”
Elavenil stated: “We had to put up a good show, we managed it quite well. I think it’s part of the preparation plan whatever I was working on so it’s just another step towards the goal. No pressure at all, having a good mentor behind is always an added advantage.” (ANI)
