Paris Olympics: Sarabjot Singh misses 10m air pistol final by one inner-10

NEW DELHI: Sarabjot Singh and Arjun Singh Cheema showed glimpses of brilliance but failed to qualify for the men's 10m air pistol final, while both the air rifle mixed teams also crashed out during qualification, marking a disappointing start for Indian shooters at the Olympic Games on Saturday.


Sarabjot secured the ninth position with a total score of 577 in the qualifications, while Arjun finished far behind at 18th with 574. Germany's Robin Walter, who also scored 577, clinched the last (eighth) qualifying spot by shooting one more inner 10 (X) than Sarabjot's 16.

Despite a poor start, Sarabjot briefly surged into the top-three after scoring a perfect 100 in the fourth series. However, he was unable to maintain the momentum and eventually faded away.

Cheema displayed his skill by shooting 10 perfect 10s in his last 10 shots, propelling him to the fourth position. He collected 97 points from Series 2 (8, 10, 10, 10, 9, 10, 10, 10, 10, 10) and was placed 10th in the list, having scored 96 points in Series 1. However, a poor 7 followed by a 9 from Cheema saw him slip outside the top eight.

Both Cheema and Sarabjot were part of the Indian team that won the 10m air pistol team gold at the Asian Games in Hangzhou last year.

DISAPPOINTMENT IN MIXED RIFLE EVENT

The Indian shooting team's hopes of securing a medal in the 10m air rifle mixed team event were dashed during the qualification stage earlier in the day.

Ramita Jindal and Arjun Babuta's combined score of 628.7 placed them sixth, while their compatriots Elavenil Valarivan and Sandeep Singh finished 12th with a total of 626.3.

Jindal and Babuta were tantalizingly close to advancing, sitting in fifth place with just three shots remaining, but ultimately fell short by a mere 1.0 point.

Babuta started strongly in the second relay, posting impressive scores of "10.5, 10.6, 10.5, 10.9," while Ramita's second series read "10.2, 10.7, 10.3, 10.1."

However, their valiant efforts were not enough to secure a spot in the bronze medal round, as shooters from China, Korea, and Kazakhstan dominated the qualifications.

China, who qualified as the top team, went on to claim the first gold medal of the Games in this event.