ISSF World Cup: Niraj Kumar, Swapnil Kusale and Chain Singh help India win men's 50m rifle 3 positions team gold

New Delhi: Adding to India’s gold rush, the troika of Niraj Kumar, Swapnil Kusale and Chain Singh won the gold medal in the 50m rifle 3 positions men’s team event of the ISSF World Cup in New Delhi on Friday, comfortably beating the USA 47-25 in the final. Kumar, Kusale and Singh led through the final to easily claim the top prize ahead of the American team of Nickolaus Mowrer, Timothy Sherry and Patrick Sunderman at the Dr Karni Singh Shooting Range. This was India’s 12th gold in the marquee event. The Indians started well with 10.1, 10.5, and 9.5 to the Americans’ 9.9, 9.8 and 9.5 in the first series. The visitors put up an improved show in the next three series but the home team always managed to stay well ahead of its opponents. Even as the Indians regularly scored mid and high 10s, the marksmen from USA struggled to match the standards of the host nation, often hovering in low nine and eight. India were originally supposed to play Hungary in the final on Thursday but the visiting team pulled out of the event following a dispute between its world number one shooter Istvan Peni and the veteran Peter Sidi over the use of a bipod by the latter. Initially, USA had finished third in the event. In Wednesday’s qualification, the Indian team led the field with an aggregate score of 875. The Hungary team, comprising Peni, Pekler and Sidi, was placed second, while the American trio of Nickolaus Mowrer, Timothy Sherry and Patrick Sunderman was third.