Saurabh Chaudhary ends seventh in 10m air pistol at Tokyo Olympics
Saurabh Chaudhary’s slow start in the final cost him in the end. The Indian pistol shooter had earlier topped the qualification round.
Indian shooter Saurabh Chaudhary finished seventh in the men’s 10m air pistol event at the Tokyo Olympics on Saturday.
Saurabh Chaudhary began slowly in the final at the Asaka Shooting Range, shooting only 96.8 after the first 10 shots, severely affecting his medal chances.
In a tie-break at the first elimination stage, the Indian shooter shot 10.2, enough to progress past South Korea’s Kim Mose, who ended last.
In what was then effectively a shoot-out for sixth place, Saurabh shot 10.6 and 9.8 to end with a score of 137.4. However, his competitor Bowen Zhang of China took his total to 137.7, which pushed Saurabh Chaudhary to a seventh-place finish.
The world No. 2 Indian shooter had earlier topped the qualifying rounds with a score of 586.
Earlier, Abhishek Verma missed out on a final spot after ending 17th with a total of 575.
World No. 1 Javad Foroughi of Iran shot an Olympic record 244.8 to win the men’s 10m air pistol gold. Damir Mikec took silver with a score of 237.9 and China’s Wei Pang won the bronze medal.
Saurabh Chaudhary and Abhishek Verma will be in action next in the mixed team air pistol events at Tokyo 2020. Saurabh Chaudhary is likely to partner Manu Bhaker while Abhishek Verma is expected to team up with Yashaswini Singh Deswal.
The mixed team 10m air pistol event takes place on Monday, July 26.