Saurabh Chaudhary, Manu Bhaker fail to qualify for 10m air pistol mixed team medal matches at Tokyo Olympics
Indian shooters Abhishek Verma and Yashaswini Singh Deswal, meanwhile, bowed out with a 17th place finish in qualifying stage 1.
India’s hopes for a Tokyo Olympics medal in the 10m air pistol mixed team competition ended with Manu Bhaker and Saurabh Chaudhary’s exit in the qualifying stage 2 on Tuesday.
Abhishek Verma and Yashaswini Singh Deswal, the second Indian team in the mixed doubles pistol competition, crashed out earlier after a disappointing outing in stage 1 qualifiers at the Asaka Shooting Range.
In qualifying stage 2, Manu Bhaker and Saurabh Chaudhary suffered due to a poor start and finished seventh in the eight-team field with a total score of 380 (Saurabh 194/200 and Manu 186/200). They needed to be in the top four to qualify for any of the two medal matches.
In series 1, Saurabh Chaudhary shot a solid 96 out of 100 but Manu Bhaker’s 92 saw the Indians sink to the bottom of the eight-team field early.
The Indian pair did marginally better in series 2 with 192 (Saurabh 98 and Manu 94) but it wasn’t quite enough to carry them into the top four.
China’s Jiang Ranxin and Pang Wei finished top with 387, ROC’s Vitalina Batsarashkina and Artem Chernousov second with 386. The two teams will meet in the gold medal match.
Ukraine’s Olena Kostevych and Oleh Omelchuk, third place with 386 but lesser inner 10s than the ROC team, will compete against the Serbian team of Zorana Arunovic and Damir Mikec, who finished fourth with 384, for the bronze.
Manu Bhaker, Saurabh Chaudhary start strong
Earlier in the stage 1 qualifiers, Manu Bhaker-Saurabh Chaudhary topped the 20-team field with a total score of 582 (Manu Bhaker 286/300 and Saurabh Chaudhary 296/300) out of 600.
Abhishek Verma (283/300) and Yasahaswini Singh Deswal (281/300), meanwhile, combined to score 564 and finished 17th.
The top eight progressed to the qualification second round.
Having suffered heartbreaks in their respective individual categories, both Manu Bhaker and Saurabh Chaudhary began the qualification stage 1 in sensational fashion.
The Indian duo combined to score 195 out of 200 (Saurabh 98/100 and Manu 97/100) in the first series to springboard to the top right from the start.
In the second series, the two consolidated their position as Saurabh Chaudhary scored a perfect 100 with his 10 shots while Manu Bhaker turned up with a 94. They were equally impressive in the third series, combining for 193 (Saurabh 98 and Manu 95).
Abhishek Verma and Yashaswini Singh Deswal, meanwhile, faltered in the opening series with 187/200 (Abhishek 92 and Yashaswini 95).
The two tried to mount a comeback but 189 in series 2 and 188 in series 3 was only enough for a 17th place finish.