New Delhi, Oct 16 (IANS) Veteran Indian shooter Zoravar Singh Sandhu produced a steady performance to stay in touch with the leaders after the first day of men’s trap qualification at the International Shooting Sports Federation (ISSF) World Championship Shotgun 2025 in Athens, Greece, on Wednesday. Zoravar shot rounds of 24 and 25 to stand fifth (on countback) with a total of 49 hits in a strong 133-athlete field at the end of day 1 qualification at the Malakasa Shooting Range in the Greek capital.

Croatia’s Anton Glasnovic and Toufik El Hamri from Morocco currently lead the men’s qualification with a perfect 50 out of 50, followed by Zoravar, along with 13 other shooters at 49.

Among other Indians, Vivaan Kapoor and Bhowneesh Mendiratta both hit perfect 25s in the second round to end the day with 48 and 47 hits, respectively. Vivaan shot 23 and 25 in his two rounds, while Bhowneesh recorded 22 and 25, to stand (17th) and (40th) after the first 50 targets.

In the women’s trap, Kirti Gupta shot 20 and 22 to total 42 out of 50, placing 43rd. Neeru Dhanda also finished with 42 hits (23, 19) to stand 50th, while Aashima Ahlawat shot 20 and 19 for a total of 39 hits, placing her 67th after the first two rounds.

Germany’s Kathrin Murche tops the women’s qualification with a perfect 50 hits, followed by Beatriz Martinez of Spain with 49.

The trap qualification continues tomorrow (October 16) with another 50 targets each for men and women, followed by a final 25 on October 17. After 125 targets, the top six shooters from each category will progress to the finals for World Championship medals. The women’s trap final is scheduled for 5:30 PM IST, followed by the men’s final at 7:00 PM IST on the same day.

The trap competitions started on Wednesday after the various categories of skeet competitions in the shotgun World Championships.

–IANS

bsk/