India climbed to the top of the medal tally at the half-way stage of the International Shooting Sport Federation (ISSF) World Cup Rifle/Pistol/Shotgun stage in Changwon, Korea, picking up one gold and three silver medals on day five of competitions.
The day began on a golden note for India as the Men's 10m Air Rifle team beat Korea 17-15 in a nerve-wracking final. Arjun Babuta, Shahu Tushar Mane and Paarth Makhija combined effectively to ward off the Korean challenge after being down 11-15 at one stage.
It was Arjun and Shahu's second gold of the competition.It was all silver after that as the Women's Rifle team of Elavenil Valarivan, Ramita and Mehuli Ghosh fought hard and were as close as 10-12 before the Koreans won the last two series of single shots to nail it 16-10 in their favour.
It was the turn of the Pistol shooters next as Shiva Narwal, Naveen and Sagar Dangi fought tooth and nail with a determined Italian side to be level 15-15 before the final series. Paolo Monna, Alessio Torracchi and Luca Tesconi proved too experienced for the new look Indian team to clinch the deal 17-15 in the end.
India's third silver of the day came in the 10m Air Pistol Team Women event. Rhythm Sangwan, Yuvika Tomar and Palak, again a new look team, looked out of it at 2-10 against a quality Korean side comprising Tokyo Olympics silver medallist Kim Minjung.
It was then that coach Samaresh Jung called for a time-out and it brought about an admirable fight back from India as they closed in at 12-14. However, the Koreans stamped their class in the final series and pulled it off 16-12 for their third gold of the tournament.Indian pairs in the Trap Mixed Team competition however finished outside the medals.
India now has a total of three gold, four silver and one bronze medal from the Changwon World Cup stage so far and there are 15 more gold medals on offer over the next six days of competition. Korea lies second with an equal number of golds but only an additional silver to show for their efforts thus far.