Suruchi Singh Clinches Thrilling Gold at Munich World Cup in 10m Air Pistol

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India's rising shooting star, Suruchi Singh, delivered a stunning performance to bag gold in the women's 10m air pistol event at the ISSF World Cup in Munich on Friday, narrowly edging out France's Camille Jedrzejewski by a razor-thin margin of 0.2 points in a nail-biting final.

Participating in just her third senior World Cup, the 22-year-old shooter from India showcased nerves of steel, shooting a total of 241.9 to claim her third consecutive individual gold and fourth overall on the international circuit. This latest triumph follows her back-to-back gold medals at the World Cups in Buenos Aires and Lima earlier this year.

The final at Munich was a roller-coaster ride. Suruchi began strongly with a score of 52.1 in her opening five-shot series. However, a dip in the second series saw her drop to second place. A 9.7 in one of the middle rounds pushed her down to fourth, but she bounced back brilliantly with a phenomenal 10.8 on her 12th shot, reclaiming the lead.

As the match tightened, China's Qianxun Yao and France's Camille Jedrzejewski emerged as her closest challengers. Camille briefly took the lead after capitalizing on a couple of 9s from Suruchi, going into the final two shots with a 0.5-point advantage.

But the Indian shooter turned the contest on its head with a clutch 10.5 on her 23rd shot, overtaking Camille, who managed only 9.5. Both competitors fired 9s in the final round, sealing Suruchi's victory by the narrowest of margins.

"It was the closest among all the finals that I have played (in three World Cups) and I think I was a bit lucky too," Suruchi admitted after her triumph.

In the qualification round earlier, Suruchi had secured second position with a score of 588. Meanwhile, Tokyo Olympian and Paris-bound Manu Bhaker endured a disappointing outing, finishing 25th with 574, while Palak ended 30th with 570. Despite not qualifying, Manu-who was part of the commentary team-was full of praise for her compatriot's golden show.

Suruchi's win has once again underlined her growing stature in Indian shooting, and she heads into the Olympic year as one of the nation's brightest hopes.