Indian shooting prodigy Suruchi Singh and world champion Samrat Rana dazzled, but had to settle for silver in the 10m air pistol mixed team event at the Asian Championship here on Thursday.
India, buoyed by Esha Singh's women's air pistol gold on Wednesday, had another fruitful day, though the top podium eluded them in the senior section. The Suruchi-Rana duo scored 479.6, a new world and Asian junior record, but Uzbekistan clinched gold with a world-record 481.3.
The Indian duo hit the ground running, posting 100.5 in the first series to lead the four-team final. But the Uzbek pair, Nigina Saidkulova and Mukhammad Kamalov, surged ahead by the third series and held their advantage through the elimination stage to claim gold. Chinese-Taipei finished third with a score of 412.2.
The 19-year-old Suruchi Singh -- who bagged four ISSF World Cup gold medals last year and topped the season-ending World Cup Final in Doha -- and Samrat dominated the qualification round with a total of 583. The Vietnamese duo, Vinh Thu Trinh and Minh Cong Lai, also scored 583, but the Indians pushed them to second place on “Inner 10s” -- 22 to 18 -- highlighting just how razor-close the contest was.
The second Indian pair, double Olympic bronze medallist Manu Bhaker and Sharvan Kumar, totalled 571, finishing ninth and missing out on the final. India's senior section medal haul now stands at four: two golds, one silver, and a bronze.
In the junior section, last year's junior World Cup and Asian Championships winner struck another gold, claiming the women’s 10m air pistol with 237.9, while compatriot Vanshika Chaudhary took silver with 236.7. The junior team -- Vanshika (577), Rashmika (572), and Agam Grewal (565) -- also struck gold, totalling 1,714, ahead of Kazakhstan (1,671) and Sri Lanka (1,631).
Also read: Esha takes India to two gold medals, Samrat gets bronze
Follow us
