World number two air pistol shooter Heena Sidhu continued her impressive form as she clinched a silver medal at the ISSF World Cup in Fort Benning, USA, the feat taking her closer to the numero uno spot in her event.
The 24-year-old shooter from Ludhiana shot an impressive 386 with rounds of 98, 96, 96, 96.
Heena shot a good 2008 in the finals to clinch the silver.
She now has the maximum medals in a World Cup by any Indian pistol shooter. She had also won a silver at the Beijing World Cup in 2009.
This was Heena’s third successive medal at the international stage, the first having come in the ISSF World Cup Final at Munich last November when she made the final world record followed by the Asian Airgun Championships in Kuwait last month.
Heena shot 203.8 in Munich.
“This victory can take Heena to the World No 1 spot. Presently she is ranked No 2 in the World,” the National Rifle Association of India (NRAI) said in a statement.
Boneva Antoaneta of Bulgaria won the gold after a 203.6 in the final while Zorana Arunovic of Serbia claimed the bronze with 180.9.
In the same event at the USA Army marksmanship range, Malaika Goel, a 16-year-old debutant, reached the finals and was ranked sixth.
She was third in the qualification round with 385/400.
She shot 119.4 in the finals. London Olympics bronze medallist Gagan Narang missed the finals by 1.5 points in men’s air rifle.
His qualification score was 622.4.
Chain Singh, gold medal winner at the recent Asian Air Gun Championships, also missed out, after a score of 619.9.