From Paris low to World Cup gold, Sift Kaur wins 50m 3P event in Argentina

Sift Kaur makes a comeback to win Women’s 50m Rifle 3 Position event in Buenos Aires

Sift Kaur Samra upgraded her World Cup record by winning gold at the ongoing meet in Buenos Aires on Friday. The 2024 Paris Games shooter, who had three bronze medals from previous World Cup editions, clinched the yellow metal in women’s 50m rifle 3Position event.

Sift, 23, shot 458.6 after qualifying first for the final with a score of 590. She didn’t get off to a good start in the final, as she was 7.2 points behind the eventual silver medallist Anita Mangold of Germany after the first 15 shots in the kneeling position.

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Sift, however, pulled herself up and reduced the difference to four points in the next 15 shots of prone. She climbed the rungs in the standing position and maintained the lead thereafter.

“It was a windy day and I was struggling in the beginning of the final. I saw the gap after the 15 shots and I briefly got a thought that the difference was too much. But I decided to not think about the scores and kept my focus on my shots and not the scores. I am glad I didn’t lose the plot,” the Asian Games gold medallist told TOI.

Sift, who holds the world record in the 50m rifle 3P final (469.6), had a forgettable outing in her maiden Olympics participation at Paris. She finished 31st after shooting 575 in the qualification.

The Punjab shooter said she had to work really hard on her confidence. “I would have been okay if I hadn’t made the final after shooting a decent score. But the score was too low for me. I had never shot that low, so it hit my confidence. But I could come back after speaking with my family and friends in the fraternity,” she said.

Mangold won silver after shooting 455.3, while the bronze went to Kazakhstan’s Arina Altukhova with a score of 445.9. Ashi Chauksi (579) and Shriyanka Sadangi (572) were 21st and 32nd, respectively.

Esha wins silver, Manu misses out Manu and Esha qualified for the 25m pistol final after scoring 585 and 579 respectively. However, in the final, despite staying third till the fourth series, Manu slipped out of the medal bracket as she missed three shots in her fifth series. Esha was more consistent shooting fours and fives.

Manu was tied at 20 with Chinese Taipie’s Chia Cen Tien, but the latter climbed up winning the shoot-off. China’s Yujie Sun won gold with 38, while her compatriot took bronze with 30.