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New Delhi: The 10m air rifle mixed team final in the ISSF Junior World Cup here on Tuesday had two Indian teams contesting for the gold medal, and they produced a gripping contest that had the packed gallery erupting in excitement.
Facing three match points at 9-15, Isha Taksale and Himanshu had the daunting task of winning three consecutive series against Junior Asian champions Shambhavi Kshirsagar and Naraen Pranav to keep hopes alive. The duo went on to clinch four consecutive series to win the match 17-15, leaving Shambhavi and Naraen heartbroken.
Not just their stellar comeback, they also surmounted some quality shooting by Shambhavi and Naraen. The statistics tell the story. Even a 21-point series (both shooters averaged 10.5) was not safe. Both pairs shot 21 points or more 15 times.
Each series in mixed is worth two points. The scores of the two shooters are added and the team logging the higher total wins the series. The final spanned 16 series. Himanshu and Isha scored 21 points together nine times, including the final three series that decided the match. Shambhavi and Naraen needed just one point to secure gold (a draw would have sufficed at 15-9), but their opponents didn’t let up.
Individually, Himanshu scored 10.5 or higher in 10 of his 16 shots and Isha nine times. There were three perfect 10.9s. Shambhavi hit two of them and Isha one.
“There was so much screaming in the hall before the last shot, the claps and shouts kept coming, it was fun,” said Isha. “It was challenging, my heart beat was very high, but at the same time I was calm in my last shot.”
“We trusted our abilities and had faith in each other. Himanshu won gold yesterday (10m air rifle) so he was high on confidence. I did not perform well in individual events, so wanted to give my best here,” she added.
The in-form Himanshu said: “You can never give up in sports. One shot can change everything. We never thought we had lost the gold. We train together, but in the match there is nothing much to communicate. Our coach during the time out (15-15) motivated us and told us to keep going,” said Himanshu.
“It was a great experience for us. I knew we were capable but there was some thought of what if,” said Naraen, who won the mixed silver with Khyaty Chaudhary in the Suhl World Cup.
