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KOLKATA: Bengal girl Ayushi Podder made a strong statement at the international stage winning two silver medals in the recently-concluded ISSF junior world championship meet in Lima, Peru. The youngster claimed the medals in 50m rifle 3 position mixed team and team events.
Months after a disappointing show at the Tokyo Games, the mood of the Indian shooting fraternity was lifted by the youngsters who finished on top of the podium with 42 medals that included 16 golds, 15 silvers and nine bronze medals.
The Podder-Aishwary Pratap Singh Tomar duo also hit a world record score of 590 out of 600 while topping the qualifications of the mixed event. Among 13 countries, the Indian pair finished second after Stage I and topped the second stage to make the final. However, some equipment problems by Aishwary in the gold-medal match let them down as they went down to Germany’s Max Braun and Anna Janssen 17-31 in the final. Interestingly, this mixed team event will make its debut in the 2024 Paris Olympics.
Podder made a shaky start in the individual event failing to make the finals. “It was disappointing. Actually I found it a bit difficult to adjust to the conditions there initially. We got only one day to practice. It was cold and windy as the range was very near to the sea. At the same time, my body clock took some time to adjust to the time difference,” Podder told TOI on Tuesday.
The 20-year-old however, came back with a bang in the team events. “The competition level was very high, featuring many Olympians. But I was always confident as I was hitting well in practice,” Podder stated.
The student, who hit in the kneel position in the mixed event, was up against USA Olympian Carolynn Tucker in the team event in the standing position. “I was a bit nervous then,” she said. However, the girl from Baidyabati, Hooghly managed to outshine her opponent by 151.7-150.9.
But the team of Prasiddhi Mahant, Nishcal and Podder lost out to the American trio of Elizabeth McGhin, Lorraine Zaun and Tucker 43-47.
A product of the Bullseye Shooting Academy at Bhadreshwar, Podder, who is doing her graduation course from Punjab University, improved a lot after shifting base to Gagan Narang Sports Promotion Foundation at Gachibowli, Hyderabad from July onwards due to lack of proper shooting range in the state.
Months after a disappointing show at the Tokyo Games, the mood of the Indian shooting fraternity was lifted by the youngsters who finished on top of the podium with 42 medals that included 16 golds, 15 silvers and nine bronze medals.
The Podder-Aishwary Pratap Singh Tomar duo also hit a world record score of 590 out of 600 while topping the qualifications of the mixed event. Among 13 countries, the Indian pair finished second after Stage I and topped the second stage to make the final. However, some equipment problems by Aishwary in the gold-medal match let them down as they went down to Germany’s Max Braun and Anna Janssen 17-31 in the final. Interestingly, this mixed team event will make its debut in the 2024 Paris Olympics.
Podder made a shaky start in the individual event failing to make the finals. “It was disappointing. Actually I found it a bit difficult to adjust to the conditions there initially. We got only one day to practice. It was cold and windy as the range was very near to the sea. At the same time, my body clock took some time to adjust to the time difference,” Podder told TOI on Tuesday.
The 20-year-old however, came back with a bang in the team events. “The competition level was very high, featuring many Olympians. But I was always confident as I was hitting well in practice,” Podder stated.
The student, who hit in the kneel position in the mixed event, was up against USA Olympian Carolynn Tucker in the team event in the standing position. “I was a bit nervous then,” she said. However, the girl from Baidyabati, Hooghly managed to outshine her opponent by 151.7-150.9.
But the team of Prasiddhi Mahant, Nishcal and Podder lost out to the American trio of Elizabeth McGhin, Lorraine Zaun and Tucker 43-47.
A product of the Bullseye Shooting Academy at Bhadreshwar, Podder, who is doing her graduation course from Punjab University, improved a lot after shifting base to Gagan Narang Sports Promotion Foundation at Gachibowli, Hyderabad from July onwards due to lack of proper shooting range in the state.
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