– By Pratyusha Mukherjee, Aichi-Nagoya, Japan
India added three more medals to its shooting tally at the 20th Asian Games on Monday, with Himanshu Dhillon winning silver and Rudrankksh Patil claiming bronze in the men’s 10m air rifle individual event, while the Indian trio also secured team silver at the Aichi Prefectural General Shooting Gallery.
China’s Sheng Lihao won the individual gold after a closely contested eight-man final.
The medal-winning campaign began in the morning qualification round, which also determined the team standings based on aggregate scores. Patil led the Indian challenge with 631.8 points, finishing third in qualification, while Dhillon posted 630.0 and Parth Mane contributed 628.3.
The combined Indian score of 1890.1 earned the team silver, behind China’s world-record 1899.0. South Korea took bronze with 1884.2.
Patil and Dhillon, having finished inside the individual top eight, returned for the final later in the day.
Patil made an impressive start, opening with 52.8 before producing a superb 53.2 in the second series to move 1.1 points clear. After 12 shots, he led the field with 127.4, followed by Dhillon on 126.6 and Sheng on 126.3.
The Chinese shooter moved ahead after 16 shots with 168.8, while the two Indians were locked together at 168.6.
Dhillon remained in contention through a consistent late phase, including a crucial 10.9, but Patil’s 9.7 proved costly. He was eliminated after 22 shots with a score of 230.9, earning the bronze medal.
Dhillon then advanced to the final two-man shoot-off against Sheng. Both shooters closed with 10.6s, but Sheng finished on 233.0 to claim gold, while Dhillon took silver with 231.0.
The three medals take India’s shooting tally at the Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games to three, following the earlier silver in the women’s 10m air rifle team event. All three medals have so far come from the air rifle discipline.
Image credit: Asian Games
