Shooting: India's Elavenil Valarivan wins her maiden World Cup gold medal
Rio de Janeiro: Young Elavenil Valarivan won her maiden gold medal in the women's 10m Air Rifle event even as fancied teammates Anjum Moudgil and Apurvi Chandela finished out of medal bracket at the ISSF World Cup Rifle/Pistol Stage.
In her debut year at the senior level, Elavenil shot 251.7 in the finals to help India extend their newly found dominance in the event leaving behind Seonaid Mcintosh of Britain, who won silver with an effort of 250.6.
India has now won three out of the four World Cup gold medals in the women's 10m Air this year. Chinese Taipei's Ying-Shin Lin won bronze as well as one of the two Tokyo 2020 quota places on offer. The second quota was won by Iran.
Gujarat's Elavenil had earlier pipped her senior Anjum in qualification, with an impressive 629.4 to the world No 2's 629.1 as they took the fourth and fifth spots through to the eight-woman final.
World number one and finals world record holder Apurvi failed to qualify for the finals, finishing 11th with a score of 627.7.
In fact, such has been India's supremacy in the event that Mehuli Ghosh, shooting in the non-competition Minimum Qualification Score (MQS) section, shot a 629.1, which could have earned her a final spot as well.
Anjum lead the finals field after the first five shots as Seonaid began as she finished and the eight finalists bunched closely at the top. The Briton then attempted to pull ahead after 10 shots as Anjum had a poor second series to go down to fifth by the 12th shot.
However, Elavenil who was shooting brilliantly went ahead of Seonaid, as the American Mary Tucker became first to be eliminated in 8th place after the 12th.
The Korean Kim, then went out in seventh after the 14th shot at which stage there were three athletes, including Elavenil and Seonaid, who were jointly in the lead with a score of 147.1. Anjum maintained her fourth place at that stage.
Anjum finished fifth losing to Romania's Laura-Georgeta Coman. The Indian shot a 10.1 to Coman's 10.4 to go out in fifth.
Meanwhile Elavenil was dishing out a master-class with a series of high 10s, which saw her maintain a 1.4 in the lead with four shots of the 24-shot final to go.
Seonaid and Elavenil battled till the end, but it was the Indian who prevailed for a milestone win.
In the Women's 25m Pistol, Annu Raj Singh, making a comeback to the India squad shot a solid 292 in the precision stage to set herself in 12thspot ahead of the Rapid Fire round on Thursday, preceding the final.
Compatriot Chinky Yadav shot 290 to lie in 17thplace while Abhidnya Ashok Patil shot 286 to be further back in 43rdspot.
In the men's 50m Rifle 3 Positions competition, there was a qualification world record in the first elimination round itself as Austria's Jan Lochbihler shot 1188 to set the new mark.
India's Sanjeev Rajput shot 1170 in the first elimination round to sail through with a 14thspot finish. He will now shoot the qualifying round on Thursday for a shot in the finals.
So will Parul Kumar who finished 10thin his elimination round with a score of 1169. Chain Singh shot 1163 in the same round as Sanjeev to end in 27thposition.
Thursday has as many as three finals on the schedule beginning with the men's 50m Rifle 3 Positions, followed by the women's 25m Pistol and the men's 10m Air Pistol being the concluding final of the day.
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India's economy projected to grow 6.6% in 2025,supported by strong private consumption,investment:UN
United Nations(PTI): The Indian economy is projected to expand by 6.6 per cent in 2025, primarily supported by robust private consumption and investment, according to a United Nations report that said economic growth in South Asia is expected to remain robust this year mainly driven by the "strong performance" in India.
The UN World Economic Situation and Prospects 2025, released here Wednesday, said that the near-term outlook for South Asia is expected to remain robust, with growth projected at 5.7 per cent in 2025 and 6.0 per cent in 2026, “driven by strong performance in India as well as economic recovery in a few other economies”, including Bhutan, Nepal and Sri Lanka.
The Indian economy grew by 6.8 per cent in 2024 and is forecast to expand by 6.6 per cent in 2025. The Indian economy is projected to return to the 6.8 per cent growth in 2026.
“The economy of India, the largest in the (South Asia) region, is forecast to expand by 6.6 per cent in 2025, primarily supported by robust private consumption and investment. Additionally, capital expenditure on infrastructure development is expected to have strong multiplier effects on growth in the coming years,” the report said.
It added that strong export growth in services and certain goods categories, particularly pharmaceuticals and electronics, will bolster economic activity for India. On the supply side, expansion in the manufacturing and services sectors will keep driving the economy throughout the forecast period.
Meanwhile, favourable monsoon rains in 2024 have improved the summer-sowing areas for all major crops, boosting agricultural output expectations for 2025.
Investment growth has remained particularly strong in East Asia and South Asia, partly driven by domestic and foreign investments in new supply chains, particularly in India, Indonesia, and Vietnam, the report said.
In India, the public sector continues to play a pivotal role in funding large-scale infrastructure projects, physical and digital connectivity, and social infrastructure, including improvements in sanitation and water supply. Strong investment growth is expected to continue through 2025.
Consumer price inflation in India is forecast to decelerate from an estimated 4.8 per cent in 2024 to 4.3 per cent in 2025, staying within the 2–6 per cent medium-term target range set by the central bank. While decreasing energy prices have contributed to the ongoing decline, adverse weather conditions have kept prices of vegetables, cereals, and other staples elevated in 2024, resulting in spikes in the country’s headline inflation in June and September.
It said that several developing economies, including China, India, and Mexico, have maintained robust investment growth, while African nations have faced limited public investment due to high debt servicing burdens, and Western Asia has experienced low investment growth amid subdued oil revenues.
Global economic growth is forecast at 2.8 per cent in 2025 and 2.9 per cent in 2026, largely unchanged from the rate of 2.8 per cent recorded in 2023 and estimated for 2024. The positive but moderately slower growth projected for the two largest economies— China and the United States of America—will likely be complemented by mild recovery in the European Union, Japan, and the United Kingdom and strong performance in several large developing economies, notably India and Indonesia, it said.
China is facing the prospect of gradual economic moderation, with growth estimated at 4.9 per cent in 2024 and projected at 4.8 per cent in 2025. Public sector investments and strong export performance are partly offset by subdued consumption growth and lingering weakness in the property sector.
The Chinese authorities have stepped up policy support to lift property markets, address local government debt challenges, and boost domestic demand; the impacts of relevant initiatives are expected to be manifested over time, it said.
The shrinking population and rising trade and technology tensions, if unaddressed, could threaten the country’s medium-term growth prospects, it said.
Among developing countries, robust momentum in India and modest growth acceleration in Africa, Western Asia, and Latin America and the Caribbean will offset a slight moderation of growth in China.
The report noted that weaker external demand, persistent debt challenges, and social unrest and political turmoil in some economies may undermine the outlook for the South Asian region.
“However, risks to the outlook are tilted to the downside owing to the possible escalation of geopolitical tensions, deceleration in external demand, ongoing debt challenges, and social unrest. In addition, as the region is highly vulnerable to the impact of climate hazards, extreme weather events pose a significant risk,” it said.
It said that the labour market situation in developing countries remains challenging, with significant variations in the outlook driven by differing economic conditions and policy responses. Some economies have exhibited resilience, it said adding that employment indicators in India have remained robust.
In India, employment indicators have remained strong throughout 2024, with labour force participation near record highs, the report said, citing the Reserve Bank of India data.
Urban unemployment stood at 6.6 per cent during this period—virtually unchanged from the rate of 6.7 per cent recorded in 2023. Although there has been progress in female labour market participation in the country, substantial gender gaps remain.
Climate-related shocks have battered South Asia in 2024. During the first half of the year, several of the region’s countries—including Bangladesh, India, Pakistan, and Sri Lanka—experienced heatwaves, droughts, and irregular rainfall patterns, which led to reduced crop yields and elevated food prices. Additionally, extreme weather events have disproportionately affected poor rural households, leading to reductions in income and widening income inequality, the report said.
