Suruchi combines with Saurabh to win mixed team pistol gold after individual glory
It was double delight for Suruchi Inder Singh as the teenaged Indian shooter combined with Saurabh Chaudhary to win the 10m air pistol mixed team gold medal in the ISSF World Cup in Lima, Peru, on Wednesday, adding to her triumph in the individual competition.
The duo of Suruchi and Saurabh shot 17 to finish ahead of China's Qianxun Yao and Kai Hu, who managed 9, in the gold medal match..
In the bronze medal contest, India's Manu Bhakar and Ravinder Singh (6) missed out on a podium finish after losing to Chines pair of Qianke Ma and Yifan Zhang (16)..
Suruchi and Saurabh made the gold medal match at the Las Palmas range with a combined 580 in qualification, with the former outscoring her more experienced partner by a couple of points. The Chinese pair of Yao Qianxun and Hu Ka topped the qualification with 585.
In the decider, the Chinese pair got a head-start, running off to a 2-6 and 4-8 advantage, before a time out called by coach Samaresh Jung brought a change in the momentum of the match.
Suruchi shot splendidly throughout and the couple of times she missed the 10-ring, her Tokyo Olympian partner made up with high 10s, including a 10.9 for his first hit of the match.
The pair regained the lead they had lost after the first series of single shots, in the 10th series, going ahead 11-9 after a tied eighth series had levelled the scores at 9-9. They did not look back thereafter and needed just the next three series to wrap up the win as the Chinese misfired first under pressure.
They did it in style too, closing out with 10.6 (Suruchi) and 10.5 (Saurabh) with both the Chinese failing to hit the 10-ring.
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