Skeet shooter Man Singh finishes fourth on opening day of qualifying in Baku WC

Skeet shooter Man Singh on Monday put himself in a good position to qualify for his first ever World Cup finals round, when he finished day one of qualifying in the men's skeet with a score of 74 out of a possible 75 to lie in the fourth position overall.

The finals are slated for Tuesday, the seventh and concluding day of the year's final International Shooting Sport Federation (ISSF) World Cup (Rifle/Pistol/Shotgun) being held in Baku, Azerbaijan.

Rio Olympics bound Mairaj Ahmad Khan is also in with an outside chance having shot 73 to lie 18th. The top six qualify for the finals. The third Indian in the fray, Sheeraz Sheikh was placed 31st with a score of 71.

In the day's other events, Lajja Gauswami and Anjum Moudgil in the women's 50m Rifle 3 Positions event, ended on 15th and 33rd spot with scores of 578 and 571 in qualifying respectively.

The Gold in the event was won by favourite Snjezana Pejcic, who won her third World Cup Gold of the season to stamp her authority in the event.

In the women's skeet, Rashmee Rathore recorded the best Indian finish shooting 67 out of 75 in qualifying to finish in 22nd place. Maheshwari Chauhan ended in 26th spot with a score of 65, while Arti Singh Rao shot 61 to finish 32nd.

India have had a record seven finalists at the Baku World Cup already with Jitu Rai securing their only medal, when he won the Silver in the Men's 10m Air Pistol event.

The other Indian finalists at the event were Abhinav Bindra, Gagan Narang (in two events), Pooja Ghatkar, Heena Sidhu, Kynan Chenai.