Shooting-After Bhaker, India find new prospect in teenaged top gun Phogat
NEW DELHI - After Manu Bhaker became the first Indian shooter to win two medals at the same Olympics in Paris last year, the country seems to have unearthed a new talent in 19-year-old Suruchi Phogat, who won her third consecutive ISSF World Cup gold in Munich on Friday.
Phogat (241.9) edged out Paris Olympics silver medallist Camille Jedrzejewski (241.7) of France in a nail-biting finish of the 10m air pistol event to maintain her unbeaten streak this season.
China's Qianxun Yao won bronze with 221.7.
Phogat was trailing Jedrzejewski by 0.5 going into the final two shots and the Indian surged ahead with a tremendous 10.5, which proved decisive in the end.
She won back-to-back World Cup golds in Buenos Aires and Lima, edging out compatriot Bhaker in the final in Peru.
Phogat was also part of India's 10 metre air pistol mixed team, which won the bronze in Buenos Aires and the gold in Lima.
She now possesses an enviable record of making the podium in every World Cup event she has taken part in.
"This third successive gold medal is the toughest of all as it was a high-and-low final for me and taught me a lot of things," Phogat told the Indian Express.
"Things did not work my way midway in the final. I guess my hands were a bit tired...
"I had to make some adjustments and I'm glad to win this title here in Munich."
India's chief pistol coach Samresh Jung said Phogat would emerge mentally stronger from such an intense final.
"Shooters have to go through every phase and it should have taught her a lot of things," Jung told the same newspaper.
"In the second series, she only had one bad shot and did not drop much in terms of other four shots and the same with the elimination shot." REUTERS
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