India’s rising shooting star Suruchi Inder Singh announced her arrival on the world stage in stunning fashion, clinching a gold medal in the women’s 10m air pistol event on day six of the ISSF World Cup Rifle/Pistol/Shotgun 2025 in Argentina.
The teenager from Haryana, already a national champion across all three individual pistol categories, displayed nerves of steel and world-class precision to outshoot a stellar field with a final score of 244.6, securing India’s third gold of the tournament. She finished 2.7 points ahead of China’s Qian Wei, while Olympic legend Jiang Ranxin had to settle for bronze.
Suruchi’s composure was evident from the outset. In a field packed with elite shooters — including Paris Olympics mixed team champion Zorana Arunovic (Serbia), reigning 25m world champion Doreen Vennekamp (Germany), Olympic medalist Veronika Major (Hungary), and Indian ace Manu Bhaker — Suruchi shot an impressive 583 in qualification, topping the leaderboard. Jiang Ranxin followed closely behind, leading a trio of Chinese shooters into the final.
Manu Bhaker narrowly missed the cut, finishing 11th with 574, despite a strong third series score of 100. Fellow Indian shooter Sainyam shot 572 to place 13th.
A Golden Comeback in the Final
The final saw Suruchi recover from a tentative start. Qian Wei set the tone early with a perfect 10.9, while Suruchi began with 10.1 and briefly slipped out of podium contention after her tenth shot. However, a remarkable turnaround followed.
Suruchi delivered back-to-back scores of 10.7 and 10.8 during the elimination stage, claiming the lead after the 13th shot. She maintained her dominance against relentless pressure from the Chinese shooters, finishing with a flurry of high scores — including 10.7, 10.8, and 10.0 — to seal the top spot on the podium.
Final Scorecard Highlights
Suruchi’s 24-shot final sequence:
10.1, 10.8, 9.7, 9.3, 10.0, 10.8, 10.7, 10.5, 10.1, 8.9, 10.7, 10.8, 10.1, 10.3, 10.3, 10.4, 9.7, 9.8, 10.6, 9.4, 10.1, 10.7, 10.8, 10.0 = 244.6.
With this stellar performance, Suruchi not only claimed her maiden ISSF World Cup medal but also firmly established herself as a name to watch in global shooting circles, as India continues to build momentum ahead of the Paris Olympics.
(With IANS inputs)
