Saurabh and Suruchi win 10m air pistol mixed team gold at Lima World Cup

New Delhi: A day after she bagged her second individual World Cup gold medal, Suruchi Phogat capped her South American tourney with a mixed team gold with comeback man Saurabh Chaudhary in Lima on Wednesday. The Indians, who beat compatriots Manu Bhaker and Ravinder Singh for a mixed team bronze in Buenos Aires last week, got the better of China’s Yao Qianxun and Kai Hu at the Las Palmas shooting range with a 17-9 scoreline.

Trailing 4-8 after the sixth series in the gold medal match, Phogat and Chaudhary won the next six series while sharing points only once to stamp their authority on the Chinese. The Indians showed their intentions in the first series itself with Chaudhary’s perfect 10.9 giving India the early lead. The Chinese responded by taking the next three series to open a 6-2 lead. The Indians took a time-out at that stage and rearguard began soon after. After points were shared on the eighth series — both teams shot an identical 20.7 — the Indians went on a roll, refusing to concede any more points.

Suruchi did the star turn once again, showing remarkable consistency in firing less than 10 only twice in her 13 tries. That made up for some erratic shooting from Chaudhary who uncharacteristically dipped under 10 five times in the final. The former world No.1, however, will look back at the twin World Cups with relief and delight. Back in reckoning after over two years, Chaudhary goes home with an individual bronze and a bronze and a gold in mixed team events.

The other Indian pair in the fray — Bhaker and Singh — lost their bronze medal playoff to China’s Ma Qianke and Yifan Zhang by a 16-6 scoreline. The Chinese were quick off the blocks and sped to an 8-0 lead when India sought a time-out. Bhaker and Singh narrowed the gap to 10-6 but the Chinese won the next three sequences to pocket the bronze medal. The result means double Olympic medallist Bhaker returns with an individual silver while Singh’s campaign ends medalless.