Udhayveer Sidhu beats Olympic medallist Reitz to win gold in ISSF World Cup

India's Udhayveer Sidhu won gold in the men's 10m air pistol event at the ISSF World Cup Rifle/Pistol on Sunday, finishing with a score of 240.6 to beat Germany's Christian Reitz by 0.5 points. Udhayveer had earlier qualified for the final in fourth place with a score of 585-19x.ISSF World Cup: Udhayveer Sidhu beats Olympic medallist Christian Reitz to win gold (ISSF Photo) New Delhi,Oct 11, 2026 17:26 ISTIndia's Udhayveer Sidhu won gold in the men's 10m air pistol event at the ISSF World Cup Rifle/Pistol in Cairo, Egypt, on Sunday, edging Germany's Christian Reitz by 0.5 points in a close finish. The 24-year-old shot 240.6 in the final to beat Reitz, who settled for silver with 240.1. Italy's Paolo Monna took bronze with a score of 219.8, according to the National Rifle Association of India (NRAI).Udhayveer held his nerve in the closing stages of the final, producing two crucial shots to turn the contest in his favour. He was trailing Reitz by 0.3 points with two shots remaining but responded with scores of 10.2 and 9.8. Reitz managed 9.6 with both his final attempts, allowing the Indian shooter to clinch gold with his last shot.The victory capped a strong showing from Udhayveer, who had qualified for the eight-man final in fourth place with a total of 585 across six series. He opened with scores of 99 and 98 before adding 98, 97, 97 and 96 in his remaining series.ANTONY MATCHES TOP QUALIFICATION SCOREIndia's Jonathan Gavin Antony, competing in the Ranking Points Only (RPO) category, shot 586 to match Monna's highest score in qualification. Among the other Indian shooters, Ajendra Singh Chauhan finished 14th with 580, while Olympic medallist Sarabjot Singh scored 574 to finish 31st. Kumar Yogesh, also competing in the RPO category, returned a score of 573. Turkey's Paris 2024 Olympic medallist Yusuf Dikec finished seventh in the final with 138.0. Greece's Georgios Gampierakis took fourth place with 198.7, while Latvia's Emils Vasermanis finished fifth with 177.6.24-MEMBER INDIAN TEAM IN CAIROUdhayveer's gold came during India's campaign at the ISSF World Cup Rifle/Pistol in Cairo, which runs from October 8 to 16. Olympic bronze medallists Swapnil Suresh Kusale and Sarabjot Singh are leading India's 24-member contingent. The team includes experienced shooters as well as younger competitors and will take part in eight individual Olympic disciplines and two mixed team events.Udhayveer's win came down to the final two shots, with the Indian holding his nerve when Reitz looked to have the advantage. His performance gave India a gold medal in the men's 10m air pistol event in Cairo.- Ends