ISSF Gabala World Cup: India's Sanjeev Rajput narrowly misses out on finals despite outstanding performance

Gabala: India’s Sanjeev Rajput shot a brilliant 106.9 in the first series but still could not qualify for the final of men’s 50m rifle prone event at the ISSF World Cup in Gabala on Sunday. [caption id=“attachment_3544541” align=“alignleft” width=“380”] File image of India’s Sanjeev Rajput. AFP[/caption] Rajput, eventually, had to be satisfied with a 11th-place finish with a total of 625.0, while eighth-placed qualifier Yury Scherbatsevich’s 626.3 turned out to be the cut score in the event. Olympic medallist Gagan Narang was 25th in the event with a total of 622.0. In the 10m air pistol event, Jitu Rai finished 12th after he shot a total of 576, while Prakash Nanjappa (575) and Omkar Singh (574) were placed 15th and 18th respectively at the end of the qualification stage. Both Narang and compatriot Rajput had sailed through their elimination rounds on Saturday. 430 athletes from 45 countries are competing for medals at the ongoing World Cup, which is the last chance for rifle and pistol shooters to qualify for the ISSF World Cup Finals.