India’s 21-year-old Divyansh Panwar set a men’s 10m air rifle world record of 253.7 points today in securing his first World Cup title in Cairo – and looked confidently ahead to the Paris 2024 Olympics.
After setting his new mark to finish 1.9 points ahead of Italy’s 21-year-old Danilo Sollazzo, Panwar told ISSF TV:
“I am feeling very proud and I made my country proud.
“Today I was very confident about my process and my technique, and I was just following the process and not paying attention to the announcer or the camera.
“I was very much focused.”
Asked how he had prepared for his landmark achievement, he responded with a smile: “With a lot of water. And with some good motivational music, including some Indian spiritual music.”
On the subject of the Paris 2024, he added: “I am feeling very much confident, and still training hard to go over there and make my country proud.”
Also feeling proud on the third day of the opening World Cup of the season in the Egyptian capital was Germany’s 22-year-old Anna Janssen, who added women’s 10m air rifle gold to the mixed team bronze she had won the previous day.
Divyansh, a Tokyo 2020 Olympian, earned India its second gold medal in the Egyptian capital with a superbly consistent performance that included three maximum scores of 10.9.
After taking the lead in the second part of the opening competition stage Panwar maintained his pre-eminence throughout the elimination rounds to finish with his landmark total.
Silver medallist Sollazzo was much at home on the range having won world and World Cup titles in the Egyptian capital in 2022.
The Italian had edged ahead of Serbia’s 26-year-old Lazar Kovacevic, the 2023 World Cup final silver medallist, in the fourth elimination round after the latter followed a 10.9 with a 9.9 and held his position, eventually totalling 251.8.
Austria’s Martin Strempfl just missed the podium, with Frantisek Smetana of the Czech Republic taking fifth place ahead of the second Indian finalist, Babuta.
Poland’s Maciej Kowalewicz finished seventh and eighth place went to Ulbrich.
A field of 76 had entered the men’s morning’s qualifying, with some notable names failing to get through.
Hungary’s Zalan Pekler, who won two of last season’s World Cups and earned gold at the World Cup Final in Doha, missed the final by one place, and Sweden’s 20-year-old world champion Viktor Lindgren finished 18th.
Like Sollazzo, Janssen had good vibes about the handsome shooting range of the Egypt International Olympic City having world gold there two years earlier in the 50m rifle 3 positions team women event and after taking control of the final in the second of the elimination rounds she was never headed.
The 2018 Youth Olympian – who had partnered Maximilian Ulbrich the previous day - finished with 253.0 points, with India’s 21-year-old Sonam Maskar. who had earned 10m air rifle mixed team silver the previous day in partnership with Arjun Babuta, taking silver on 252.1.
Bronze went to Poland’s 28-year-old winner of last November’s World Cup Final in Doha, Aneta Stankiewicz, who finished one place ahead of the second Indian in the final, Asian champion Nancy Nancy.
Kwon Eunji of the Republic of Korea was fifth, one place ahead of Japan’s Misaki Nobata, with Norway’s Jeanette Hegg Duestad, beaten in the previous day’s mixed team bronze medal-match, finishing seventh and Janssen’s team-mate Anita Mangold eighth.
Britain’s Seonaid McIntosh, whose perfect final shot of 10.9 had sealed the previous day’s 10m air rifle mixed team gold in partnership with Dean Bale, missed the final by one place in a morning qualifying competition involving a mammoth 92 shooters.