ISSF World Championships | Sift Kaur Samra secures Paris Olympics quota in women's 50m rifle three psositions
Sift Kaur Samra, an emerging shooter, secured India's sixth spot on the Paris Olympic qualifying team after placing fifth in the women's 50m rifle three positions competition at the ISSF World Championship on Monday. The 21-year-old, won gold in her preferred sport, amassed 429.1 points in finals.
Samra battled hard to finish sixth at the conclusion of the qualification round with a score of 589. Samra had previously earned her first individual medal at the international level—a bronze at the ISSF World Cup Rifle/Pistol in Bhopal in March of this year. Her scores when 'kneeling' were 192 and 'prone' and 'standing' scores were excellent 199 and 198.
But in the finals, Samra slowly climbed to fifth place after falling to ninth in the early going while "kneeling" and "prone." Zhang Qiongyue of China (465.3) won the gold medal, while Han Jiaye of the same nation (463.5) took home the silver. Sagen Maddalena of the USA came in third with a score of 451.9.
With an overall score of 1761, the Indian trio of Samra (589), Ashi Chouksey (590), and Manini Kaushik (582) placed sixth in the team division. In addition to Mehuli Ghosh (women's 10m air rifle) and 28-year-old Akhil Sheoran (50m rifle 3-positions), India has three quotas for the Paris Olympics in the World Championship.
India has thus far secured six Paris quota spots overall. The other three Indians who won quota spots for the 2024 Olympics at the ISSF World Championships last year were Bhowneesh Mendiratta (men's trap), Rudrankksh Balasaheb Patil (men's 10m air rifle), and Swapnil Kusale (men's 50m rifle 3 positions).