Mairaj best-placed as Indian skeet shooters struggle in strong World Cup field

Lonato (Italy), Jul 6 (PTI) Young skeet shooter Parinaaz Dhaliwal was the best-placed Indian in the women's section after four rounds of qualification on day two of the ISSF World Cup (Shotgun) here on Monday, lying joint 23rd and facing an uphill task to qualify for the final with just one round of qualification remaining. Dhaliwal shot rounds of 22 and 24 on day two, adding to her opening-day scores of 24 and 23 on to aggregate 93 out of a possible 100 and be tied alongside six other shooters. The other two Indians in the field, Olympians Raiza Dhillon and Maheshwari Chauhan, were further down the standings in a 13-way tie for 34th place with scores of 91 each. With only one round of 25 targets remaining, which is scheduled for Tuesday, before the top eight advance to the final, both are virtually out of contention for a place in the last eight. In the men's skeet event, the fourth round of qualification was underway, with Olympian Mairaj Ahmad Khan in contention for a place in the eight-man final. He was tied for seventh after three rounds with a score of 74 out of 75, alongside at least a dozen other shooters. The top six, including four-time Olympic gold medallist Vincent Hancock of the United States, were flawless with perfect scores of 75. The other Indians in the field, Bhavtegh Singh Gill and Olympian Anant Jeet Singh Naruka, were further down the standings on 72 each after three rounds and faced an uphill task to break into the top eight. PTI AM AM APA APA