Arjun Babuta, representing India in the men’s 10m air rifle final at the Paris Olympics 2024, secured a fourth-place finish in Chateauroux on Monday. Babuta completed the medal event with a total score of 208.4 points after 20 shots.
Arjun Babuta started strong, scoring 105.1 points in the first two rounds of five shots each, placing him in third position, just 0.1 points shy of second place.
As the competition progressed, Babuta had a chance to catch up with the leader, Lihao Sheng, by the end of the third round. However, a subpar performance in the fourth round widened the gap to 1.3 points.
Despite a shaky start in the fifth round, Babuta managed to hold onto the second spot. Croatian shooter Miran Maricic shared this position with a 21.6-point round, while Sheng extended his lead with a near-perfect 10.9-point shot, increasing the gap to two points.
Unfortunately, the 25-year-old shooter from Punjab could not maintain his position. By the end of the sixth round, Arjun Babuta had dropped to fourth place and was unable to catch up, concluding his Olympic journey just shy of a medal.