At the ISSF World Cup for rifle and pistol in Granada, Indian shooters Palak Gulia and Mukesh Nelavalli set a new world record while securing a gold medal in the 10m air pistol mixed team event on Tuesday. Their victory was particularly noteworthy as they competed against a strong field that included reigning world champions Kai Hu and Qianxun Yao from China, as well as Hungary’s Paris Olympics bronze medallists Veronika Major and Akos Nagy.
In his senior debut, Nelavalli delivered an impressive performance, scoring 294, while Gulia contributed 287, leading the Indian duo to qualify in second place, just behind their Chinese counterparts. An hour later, Gulia and Nelavalli clinched the title with a final score of 487.7, surpassing the Chinese team by 2.9 points and establishing both a new world record and a junior world record.
The updated mixed team final format allows the top four teams to compete for medals, a shift from the previous system that featured only the top two. In this revised structure, each mixed team fires five shots in 250 seconds during the first three series, followed by three elimination series consisting of three shots each.
Entering the final, Nelavalli had already recorded 11 inner tens during qualification. His first series score of 50.7, combined with Gulia’s score of 49.4, positioned the Indian team (100.1) slightly ahead of the Chinese team (99.7), while Hungary was in third place (98.8) and the USA team in fourth (96.6).
Following the second series, the Indian team increased their lead over the Chinese pair to 2.6 points, with Gulia scoring 51.3 and Nelavalli achieving 51.6. In the subsequent five-shot series, the Indian duo widened their margin to 4.3 points, finishing that series with a total of 305.4 compared to the Chinese team’s 301.1.
During the elimination rounds, the USA team was the first to be eliminated, followed closely by Hungary. After the fourth series, the Indian pair maintained a 3.3-point lead over the Chinese, which shrank to 2.6 points after the penultimate series. Gulia, who previously won the 10m air pistol title at the 2023 Hangzhou Asian Games, recorded the highest score of 31.5 in the elimination series, while Nelavalli contributed 30.5, securing their victory.
Nelavalli expressed his satisfaction with his performance, stating, “This was my first senior international, and I am happy that I did my best. During the final, I focused on each shot, competing primarily with Palak and aiming to outperform her.” He has trained for six years under Commonwealth Games medalist Chandrashekhar Choudhary at the Gun For Glory Academy in Pune and Hyderabad. Choudhary praised Nelavalli’s determination and noted that their work on his trigger movement has been instrumental in achieving high scores.
Gulia acknowledged Nelavalli’s steady shooting, which eased the pressure on her. “In mixed teams, pairings can vary based on who qualifies from India. This new format is challenging, as all four teams have medal potential. However, it also allows us to start fresh. I focused on my own performance from the first shot. Mukesh’s shooting made it much easier for us, and he often outperformed me in many series during the final,” she remarked.
Except for the opening series, where only one of their ten shots exceeded 10.5, the Indian pair consistently maintained their lead throughout the final. In the remaining series, Gulia scored six times above 10.5, including a 10.9 on her penultimate shot, while Nelavalli recorded nine shots above 10.5, with three of them scoring 10.8.
Arunovic, India’s foreign coach, noted the team’s ability to maintain and even extend their lead in such a demanding format, stating, “Our team led at every stage, which was challenging to sustain. Both Palak and Mukesh not only held onto their lead but also increased it. There were moments of slight slips, but they showed great stamina and determination to regain their advantage. We’ve been working on strategies to improve shooting performance as we prepare for the LA Olympics.”
