Olympics 2021: Saurabh enters final, Abhishek falters in men 10m air pistol in Tokyo

Saurabh Chaudhary booked a berth in the eight-shooter final of the men’s 10 meters air pistol event at the Tokyo Olympic Games on Saturday. It was a proud moment for Saurabh, who is the son of a farmer from Western Uttar Pradesh and has now made an impressive start to his Olympic campaign.

However, Abhishek Verma, the other Indian shooter in the fray, failed to progress into the final.

Saurabh, 19, scored 586 out of 600 to finish first in the qualification round. He shot a series of 95, 98, 98, 100, 98, and 97 for an aggregate of 586 to top the table.

After a modest start, Saurabh picked up the pace in the second 10-shots series with a score of 98. Halfway through the match, the teenage shooter from Uttar Pradesh was neatly placed at the fourth position having a series of 95 followed by 98 and 98.

Saurabh continued to build his pace in the second half of the match, scoring 100 in the fourth 10 shot series. At that juncture in the qualification round, he was placed second in the table. In the last two 10 shots series, Saurabh scored 98 and 97 to cement his position in the final.

Abhishek Verma will not be accompanying Saurabh Chaudhary in the final

Abhishek, 27, struggled in the initial stages of the qualification round. He shot 575 to finish 17th in the field of 36 shooters.

He started with a series of 94 points in the first 10 shots. It was a less than encouraging start for the the 27-year-old shooter. From there on, it looked like an uphill task for Abhishek, which only got tougher as he shot a modest 96 in the second 10 shots series. But the Haryana shooter came back into the match in the third 10 shots series with a score of 98.

He shot 97 in the fourth and 98 in the fifth 10 shots series to stay in contention for the final. However, he faltered on the home stretch and was left crest-fallen after the match. Abhishek shot an average of 92 in the last and sixth 10 shot series which spoiled his chance of making the cut for the final.