On September 24, India’s medal tally got off to a strong start with silvers in rowing and shooting.
On Sunday, Indian shooters made a strong start to their Asian Games campaign with Mehuli Ghosh, Ramita Jindal, and Ashi Chouksey’s winning the women’s team silver and Ramita winning an individual bronze in the 10m air rifle competition. After the hosts China broke the Asian record with a score of 1,896.6, the Indian trio placed second with a combined score of 1,886.0. After scoring 230.1 in the eight-shooter finals, Ramita, the junior world champion, claimed the individual bronze in her competition.
Huang Yuting broke the Games record with a score of 252.7 on her route to the top podium finish, helping China win both the gold and silver medals in the competition. With 251.3 points, Han Jiayu finished second.
Before her disqualification due to a dismal 9.9 on the 13th shot, 19-year-old Ramita was in the running for a silver medal.
The second Indian who advanced to the eight-shooter final, Mehuli, came in fourth with a score of 208.43.
the silver team All three of the Indian women shooters on Sunday were in the “zone,” despite coming in second place to China in the team category.
Ramita came in second with a qualifying score of 631.9, and Mehuli placed fourth with a score of 630.8.With a little off-target performance of 623.3, the third Indian, Ashi, placed 28th in the qualification round.
However, the trio’s overall performance was sufficient to earn them silver and boost the spirits of the Indian team, which is expecting to improve on their medal total from the last Games in Jakarta and Palembang, where they won nine medals.
In shooting, a nation’s shooters’ combined scores during the qualification round determine which team will win the medals.
Han Jiayu, Huang Yuting, and Wang Zhilin all shot at peak performance to help China win the team gold and break the previous Games record.
With a total score of 1880.0, Mongolia came in third.
FINE SHOW BY INDIANS IN QUALIFICATION –
Ramita shot consistent scores of 104.3, 106.7, 105.2, 104.3, 105.4, and 106.0 in the six series to earn 631.9, placing her second behind Han Jiyan of China, who broke the 10m air rifle Games qualification record and Asian record with a superb 634.1.
Mehuli, who qualified for the individual final with a score of 630.8, had similar results with scores of 104.6, 105.7, 104.6, 105.1, 104.9, and 105.9. She came in fifth place and advanced to the final round.
However, Ashi, the third Indian shooter, finished 28th with a qualification round score of 623.3 and did not advance to the final.
Mehuli, 22, was the clear favourite to win the solo event after recent successes in various international competitions, but Ramita had other ideas.
Ramita, who was crowned world champion in the 10m air rifle junior event at the ISSF World Championship (Rifle/Pistol) in Cairo last year, overcame a minor lapse in concentration on the 13th shot to get back into the groove and shoot some good scores, eliminating Mehuli while in contention for bronze.
Missing out on a medal would have been a tremendous disappointment for Mehuli, who earned bronze at the ISSF World Championships in Baku, Azerbaijan last month, along with a quota spot in the 2024 Paris Olympics.
After her recent successes in multiple international competitions, Mehuli, 22, was the clear favourite to place first in the individual event, but Ramita had other ideas.
Ramita, who won the 10m air rifle junior event at the ISSF World Championship (Rifle/Pistol) in Cairo the previous year, overcame a momentary lapse in focus on the 13th shot to regain her composure and shoot some solid scores, eliminating Mehuli while still in the running for bronze.
Mehuli, who last month won a bronze medal and an Olympic quota for Paris 2024 at the ISSF World Championship in Baku, Azerbaijan, would have been quite disappointed to not have won a medal.
