Shooting Worlds: Hriday wins junior 10m air rifle gold; Medals for Elavenil, Shreya
Changwon (South Korea), Sep 7: India's Hriday Hazarika clinched the gold medal in the men's junior 10m air rifle, while Elavenil Valarivan and Shreya Agrawal claimed silver and bronze medals respectively in the women's junior 10m air rifle event at the 52nd ISSF World Championships here on Friday.
The 16-year-old Hriday prevailed in a shoot-off, scoring a decisive 10.3 against Iran's Amir Mohammad Nekounam, who came up with a 10.2.
Junior World Cup gold medallist Hriday and Amir finished tied at 250.1 points after nine series, comprising 24 shots.
The podium was completed by Russian Grigorii Shamakov, who scored 228.6 points. The fourth place was taken by Marco Suppini of Italy with 207.2 points.
India, however, failed to win a medal in the team competition in this category. By setting a new record, China took the team gold medal with 1876.2 points. Iran followed in 2nd place with 1874.3 points, while the Russian side won bronze with 1873.7.
In the women's junior 10m air rifle event, Elavenil (249.8 points) and Shreya (228.4) finished behind Chinese Shi Mengyao (250.5).
However, the performances of Elavenil and Shreya powered India to a gold medal in the team event. They won gold along with their teammate Manini Kaushik with a total tally of 1880.7 points.
The score turned out to be a new junior world record, an excellent result that proved once again the strength of the Indian team, currently ranked 2nd in the intermediate medal standings of the ISSF World Championship, second only to the host country.
China, led by the new world champion Shi, collected the silver medal with 1874.6 points (scored by Shi, Wang Suhyi and Qiaoying Zhang). Bronze went to the host country, South Korea, thanks to Kim Jiyeon, Ga Eul Han and Minjung Oh, who scored 1871.9 points.
Let the Truth be known. If you read VB and like VB, please be a VB Supporter and Help us deliver the Truth to one and all.
RCB to play five IPL 2026 home matches in Bengaluru, two in Raipur
Bengaluru (PTI): Defending champions Royal Challengers Bengaluru will play five of their home matches at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium here and the remaining two fixtures at Raipur's Shaheed Veer Narayan Singh International Stadium in the upcoming IPL, the franchise said on Tuesday.
The announcement ended doubts about whether the IPL 2025 winners would be able to play at their home ground, the M. Chinnaswamy Stadium, following the stampede that killed 11 fans after RCB's maiden title win.
Since that tragic indecent, the venue has not hosted any major domestic matches including the Ranji Trophy, Vijay Hazare Trophy or even the Maharaja Trophy KSCA T20.
"This significant development comes after months of hard work and close coordination across all concerned authorities with a common goal of bringing the games back to home ground for the fans," RCB said in a release.
"RCB extends its sincere gratitude to the Government of Karnataka, the Karnataka State Cricket Association and the Karnataka Police for their unwavering guidance, cooperation and support in facilitating the hosting of matches in Bengaluru."
"The collective efforts to ramp up infrastructure and safety measures in time for the IPL season have ensured that the defending champions will play the majority of their home games in their home ground," the franchise added.
The franchise said that the two "home matches" in Raipur will be as "per prior commitment."
RCB CEO Rajesh Menon said the fans deserve to watch their team compete at home.
"The M. Chinnaswamy Stadium is more than just our home ground it is where our identity as a team truly comes alive," he said.
"The energy our fans bring to Bengaluru has always been a driving force for our players, inspiring them through every phase of the game. Our fans have stood by us unconditionally, and they deserve the opportunity to watch their team compete at home."
"After detailed discussions and completing the necessary due process around permissions, we are pleased to confirm that RCB will play five matches in Bengaluru. We sincerely thank the Government of Karnataka, the KSCA, and the Karnataka Police for their support in making this possible," Menon added.
