Sift Kaur Samra wins ISSF World Cup gold

Buenos Aires

Indian shooter Sift Kaur Samra won her first individual gold medal in the women’s 50m rifle 3 positions event at the ISSF World Cup in Argentina. Despite a slow start, the 23-year-old made a stunning comeback to finish with 458.6 points, beating Germany’s Anita Mangold (455.3) and Kazakhstan’s Arina Altukhova (445.9).

Samra had qualified in first place with a score of 590, ahead of Olympic champions Chiara Leone and Nina Christen, who did not make the top eight. Her strong finish helped India climb to second in the medal standings, with one gold and one bronze—thanks also to Chain Singh’s earlier bronze in the men’s 3P.

Samra was initially in eighth place after the Kneeling round but gained momentum in the Prone round and surged ahead in the Standing position with scores of 52.3 and 51.2. Her final shots sealed a confident win.

In Skeet, Raiza Dhillon led the Indian women, placing sixth after four rounds with 94 points. Ganemat Sekhon and Darshna Rathore followed in 11th and 18th places. Among the men, Bhavtegh Gill stood 18th with 94 points, followed by Anant Jeet Singh Naruka (93) and Gurjoat Khangura (91).

Samra’s performance marks a proud moment for India at the World Cup and boosts the team’s confidence ahead of the upcoming Olympic season.