World cup final: ‘Jaipur boys’ Vivaan, Anant Jeet bring cheer to Indian contingent
“We are the Jaipur boys!” — skeet shooter Anant Jeet Singh Naruka, fresh from his bronze medal winning feat, could not control his joy as he reacted minutes after his state-mate Vivaan Kapoor won silver in the men’s trap competition.
Kapoor, 22, and Naruka, 26, go a long way back as both the families have been friends for a long time. The closeness showed when Naruka showed up unannounced at Kapoor’s media interaction and raked up the Jaipur connection. “It is good to win a medal with my cousin,” Kapoor said in a jovial response.
Kapoor could not have been happier as he won his first ISSF medal in the senior category. China’s Qi Ying, who is the reigning Olympics silver medallist, won the gold medal after breaking 47 of the 50 targets in the final, while Kapoor finished second with a total of 44. Turkey’s Tolga Tuncer won the bronze medal with a total of 35 hits.
“I gave it my all but this medal is because of God’s grace,” Kapoor said after his first big medal. “I am happy and it is big as this is my first (ISSF medal) and I hope that I work harder on several others because this is a long journey,” he added.
Kapoor credited his personal coach Khaled Al Mudaf for his rise in the field of trap shooting. “He is like my second father. He is somebody I have looked up to. I credit three people who have helped me in this field — my father’s friend Giriraj Singh, who made me start shooting, my father and of course my second father Khaled. He takes care of everything from my technique, my diet to my mental being, everything is controlled by Khaled,” he said.
Kapoor, who missed out on the Indian team selection for the Paris Games, also informed that he has plans ready for the 2028 Los Angeles Games.
“I have an organised plan with my coach as we work towards the LA Olympics. I was three to four targets away from the Paris Olympics but my aim was always to prepare for the LA Games. My preparations started the day of the Paris Olympics,” he said.
Home pressure
Earlier in the day, Naruka finished third in the skeet men’s final with a score of 43. The gold was won by Italy’s Tammaro Cassandro, who pipped Paris Olympics mixed team
gold medallist Gabriele Rossetti 57 hits to 56.
Naruka touched on how shooting in an international tournament on home
turf may have played a part in his missing seven targets in the final.
“This competition was very good for me as I got third place. I had to fight from the start as everyone was shooting well. I knew I had to do well. At one point I knew I was in danger of getting eliminated and I concentrated on one target at a time and kept shooting,” Naruka said.
“It was the pressure of performing at home. I could have shot much better. I have performed well in Delhi a number of times and I think a plus point for me was that I am very comfortable with the range. It was a good performance overall,” he added.
In the day’s first final, India’s Ganemat Sekhon finished sixth in the women’s skeet final. Ganemat, who qualified fourth with a score of 122 in qualification, scored 16 hits and was the first to be eliminated.
The gold medal was won by USA’s Samantha Simonton, who edged Italy’s Diana Bacosi 56 hits to 54. France’s Lucie Anastassiou finished third with 42 hits.
