India’s mission in the Asian Shooting Championships began on a promising note on Monday as the men’s team finished with a silver medal in 10m air pistol. The team of Anmol Jain (580), Aditya Malra (579) and Asian Games gold medallist Saurabh Chaudhary (576) had a combined score of 1,735 points, with China taking the top honours with 1,744 points. Iran rounded out the podium with bronze at 1,733 points.
Anmol Jain Misses Individual Podium
Though helping the team bag silver, Faridabad shooter Anmol Jain missed an individual medal by a whisker. Starting the final at seventh spot with a qualification score of 580, Anmol achieved sixth position in the medal round with 155.1 points.
China’s Hu Kai nailed the finale to take gold with 241.6 points, followed by South Korea’s Hong Suhyeon and Iran’s Amir Joharikhou with silver and bronze claiming 239.0 and 216.8 points, respectively. India’s Chaudhary and Aditya failed to advance beyond qualification, finishing 13th and 21st.
Emerging Talent Catches Eye in RPO Category
There was a standout performance by Amit Sharma, a 20-year-old shooting in the Ranking Points Only (RPO) division. Sharma led the 48-strong qualification field with a magnificent 588, but as an RPO competitor, he was not qualified for the final. Indian RPO shooter Varun Tomar also had an impressive performance with a score of 584, coming fourth in qualification.
India’s juniors also struck. Kapil won the junior men’s 10m air pistol gold with 243.0, having entered the final in fourth place after qualifying with 579. Junior compatriot Gavin Antony contributed to the medal haul with a bronze medal in the final with a score of 220.7.
In the junior team event, Gavin (582), Kapil (579) and Vijay Tomar (562) totalled 1,723 points, claiming the team silver behind gold medalists South Korea with 1,734 points.
India’s Largest-Ever Contingent in Action
This edition features India participating with its largest-ever contingent at the continental competition with 182 shooters in the senior, junior and youth categories. Medals are available across 58 events, including 46 individual and 12 mixed team events.
In the last edition in Changwon, India had taken an overall third position with 59 medals (21 gold, 22 silver, 16 bronze) behind China and host country South Korea. The early silver medal in Doha has put the Indian shooters on a promising footing to do better than that.
