Veteran marksman Ravinder Singh clinched a gold medal in the men’s 50m free pistol event, while Elavenil Valarivan bagged a bronze medal in women’s 10m air rifle, ensuring India got off to a strong start at the ISSF World Championships here on Saturday. Singh, 29, shot a superb 569 to take top honours ahead of  Kim Cheongyong of South Korea, who shot 556.

Meanwhile, 26-year-old Elavenil looked set to win gold after grabbing the lead in the final, but faced heartbreak moments later when she scored a 10.0 in her 19th shot to slip to third from where she lost momentum and only managed a 9.9 in her final shot to finish with a score of 232. South Korea’s Ban Hyojin took home the gold medal with a score of 255, while China’s Wang Zifei finished second with a score of 254.