Budding Haryana shooter Kanak opened India’s gold medal account at the ISSF Junior World Cup in Germany, clinching the yellow metal in women’s 10m air pistol on Wednesday. The 17-year-old, a junior World Championship silver medallist in Lima last year, scored 239.0 in the 24-shot eight-women final to upstage Anna Dulce of Moldova, a two-time Olympian and reigning European champion, by 1.7 points. Chinese Taipei's Chen Yen-Ching won the bronze medal in the event taking place in Suhl.
Earlier, two Indian shooters qualified for the final with Prachi securing a spot behind Kanak in fifth place as they shot scores of 571 and 572, respectively.
Kanak then showed her experience at this level, bringing out the big 10s when it mattered the most towards the closing stages of the final to win easily. “I was a little bit nervous in the beginning, but I am happy that I was able to close out well,” she said after the match.
In fact, it was Prachi who remained in the top three from the start of the final and looked in contention for a medal. Prachi shot a poor 8.6, while Kanak took the lead with a soaring 10.5. As Prachi faded away, Kanak then shot three high 10s, a slim 10.1 and three high 9s (9.7, 9.8, 9.9) in her next nine shots to pull away from the field.
She closed the contest with a 9.4, which will not please her coaches, but by then the gold was in her bag. On Tuesday, India's Adriyan Karmakar had won the silver medal in the 50m rifle prone event.
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