Abhay Singh Sekhon raises final hopes in Nicosia Shotgun World Cup

New Delhi, May 6 (IANS) Abhay Singh Sekhon, the youngest member of the Indian men’s skeet shooting trio at the International Shooting Sport Federation (ISSF) World Cup Shotgun in Nicosia, Cyprus, raised hopes of a final entry, ending day two of qualifications in fifth place and a tally of 98 after four rounds.

The Punjab youngster was just one off the pace, with former world champion and Olympic silver medalist Jesper Hansen of Denmark and former junior world champion Elia Sdruccioli of Italy, leading the 91-strong field with 99 hits each.

Abhay (25,24,24,25) had missed just one target over two rounds on Monday and repeated the feat on day two Tuesday, only this time finishing with a perfect-round instead of beginning with one.

He has six other strong shooters for company on the same tally and the fight for the top six finalists on day three, will likely go down to the last shot and multiple shoot-offs, ahead of the final.

You can catch the FINAL LIVE on the official ISSF YouTube Channel from 5.00pm (Women’s Final) & 6.30pm (Men’s Final) Indian Standard Time (IST) on Wednesday, April 06, 2025.

Among other Indians in the fray, double Olympian Mairaj Ahmad Khan shot 95 (24,24,24,23) to be in 36th place while Ritu Raj Bundela shot 90 (23,21,23,23) for 68th spot in the men’s standings.

In women’s skeet, Paris Olympian Maheshwari Chauhan had a better day with two rounds of 25 and 24 each, giving her a two-day tally of 93 and 16th place in the standings.

Parinaaz Dhaliwal (23,24,20,25) had a tough third round but finished with a 25 to lie 19th, a point behind Maheshwari, while Yashasvi Rathore (18,23,24,21) with 88 was in 38th position.

--IANS

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