ISSF New Delhi Shooting World Cup 2019: Apurvi Chandela dedicates her gold medal to Pulwama martyrs and their families

New Delhi: Apurvi Chandela has dedicated her 10-metre air rifle gold to the soldiers martyred in the Pulwama terror attack last week, and their grieving families. Besides her top finish, Chandela also created a world record in her category with a finals score of 252.9. [caption id=“attachment_2941116” align=“alignleft” width=“380”] File photo of Apurvi Chandela. Getty[/caption] “I would like to dedicate this medal to the soldiers who lost their lives in the unfortunate incident in Pulwama and their families. This is for them,” she said. Over 40 CRPF personnel were killed in the suicide attack in Pulwama last Thursday when a suicide bomber rammed an explosives-laden vehicle in the convoy of the CRPF men. The incident has escalated tensions between the neighbouring countries and the ramifications have been felt at the ongoing World Cup as well. Recently, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) suspended all Indian applications to host future events and urged international sports federations not to stage competitions in the country after the three-member Pakistani contingent was denied visas to compete in the event. “I can’t really say much on the Pakistani shooters missing from this event. It’s between the Government, ISSF and NRAI. They are doing the best,” she said. Chandela’s gold was her first ever World Cup medal, coming close on the heels of a World Championships silver in Changwon last year. This January, she went to Austria to participate in an open competition and returned with another gold. “I think I carried a lot of confidence from that event (Austria). Earlier, I did make a world record in Sweden in the previous format, but that was unofficial. So definitely this is one of my best performance. Also, the Commonwealth Games gold at Glasgow (2014) was very important to me,” she said. She also had a word of praise for the upcoming shooters in her event, and credited them for keeping her on the toes. “All of them (juniors) are really good. I have to push myself to maintain my performance. I can’t settle at any score, and that’s actually a good thing for me as it keeps me motivated,” she added.