Olympics 2021: Erratic performance shatters Saurabh's dream, Foroughi wins gold in men's 10m air pistol 

Indian pistol shooter and Olympics debutant Saurabh Chaudhary’s erratic performance in the men’s 10-meter air pistol final at the Asaka Shooting Range in Tokyo on Saturday shattered his dreams of winning an Olympic medal. He finished seventh in the eight-shooter final.

The 19-year-old Indian shooter was the pre-event favorite to win a medal in the competition. He topped the qualification round with 586 out of 600, to enter the eight-shooter final.

Saurabh shot 23 consecutive shots in 10 rings on his way to scoring 586 in the preliminary round, which raised hopes of a medal in the final.

Saurabh wasn’t able to settle his nerves in the medal round. He lost his flow from the previous round. As a result, instead of repeating his qualification round performance, he delivered an inconsistent series of shots in the 8-shooter final.

Saurabh’s first shot of the final was a 10.1 but his next four shots were outside the 10 circle ring. In an event where decimal points determine the fate of a shooter's performance, he had little chance of recovering the lost ground.

After a series of 10 shots, which is the first stage of the final competition, the eliminations started. Korea’s Kim Mose who shot 579 in the preliminary round, was the first shooter to be eliminated; he ranked eighth.

Saruabh's hopes of staying in the race for the medal evaporated at the end of the 14th shot, which landed in 9.6. He finished seventh.

How did the other shooters perform in men's 10m air pistol at the 2021 Olympics?

Iran’s Foroughi Javad was steady in the final, which enabled him to win a gold medal in the men's 10m air pistol event. He shot 244.8 points which was an Olympic Games record.

The Iranian shooter began his medal round on a positive note. He tightened his grip on the match as it progressed and eventually steered clear of his rivals, including Serbia’s Mikec Damir.

Mikec held his nerves in a high voltage final contest to win silver with a score of 232.9 points. The Serbian shooter was the last and the eighth shooter in the preliminary round to make the cut for the final.

China’s Pang Wei won bronze with a score of 217.6 points.