ISSF World Cup: Subdued start by Indian shooters

Indian shooters began their campaign in the year's first ISSF World Cup on a quiet note as none of the three participants in the men's 10m air rifle made it to the semi-finals in Cairo on Sunday.

Rudrankksh Balasaheb Patil shot 628.5 in the 60-shot qualification stage to be placed 11th among 103 competitors. He was the best Indian finisher.

The top eight to make it through were led by Russian Vladimir Maslennikov, a former world champion and Olympic medallist, who shot a superb 632.7.

Among India's other two competitors in the qualifiers which ended late on Sunday, Divyansh Singh Panwar ended 25th with a score of 626.8 while Srinjoy Datta shot 616.6 to finish 82nd.

The semi-finals and medal rounds are scheduled for Monday.

The first medals will be distributed on Monday, when both the men's and women's air rifle finals are scheduled.

India's Rajshree Sancheti, Shreya Agrawal and Aayushi Gupta will be in action in the women's air rifle event.

Over 500 athletes from 60 nations are taking part in the Cairo World Cup which has 20 medal sets on offer.