Bhowneesh Mendiratta Claims Fourth At Lonato ISSF World Cup Shotgun

Paris Olympic quota winner Bhowneesh Mendiratta reached the men's trap final at the International Shooting Sport Federation (ISSF) World Cup Shotgun in Lonato, finishing fourth with 29 hits after the first 35 shots of the 50-shot final.

Mendiratta had previously shot rounds of 25 and 24 in the last two rounds of qualification, totaling 123, which secured him third place in a field of 142 participants.

The 24-year-old missed three of the first 15 targets in the final but then managed to hit 11 targets consecutively. However, missing two targets in a row halted his progress. Briton Matthew John Coward-Holley won the gold with a total of 47 hits.

Mendiratta, from Faridabad, is a junior Asian Championships silver medalist. He started competing in the senior circuit in 2021 and also won a silver medal at the ISSF World Cup held in Changwon, Korea, in 2022.

Among other Indians in medal contention in men's trap, seasoned shooter Prithviraj Tondaiman shot 119 to finish 17th while Vivaan Kapoor was further down in 55th with a score of 113 over five rounds of qualification.

None of the three Indians in women's trap could make the top six. Manisha Keer, Shreyasi Singh, and Rajeshwari Kumari all shot identical scores of 107 to finish 38th, 41st, and 42nd respectively.

A full-fledged 12-member Indian team is competing in the trap and skeet events at the shotgun World Cup in Lonato, Italy. The performance of these shooters will help them consolidate their chances of representing India at the Paris Olympics.