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The charged-up Indian men's shooting team were definitely not suffering from any Monday blues on September 25 as they bagged India's first gold medal at Asian Games 2023 in the 10m Air Rifle.
The men’s team consisting of world champion Rudrankksh Patil, Olympian Divyansh Panwar, and Aishwary Pratap Singh Tomar accumulated 1893.7 points to clinch the gold in the continental showpiece. Incidentally, India broke the world record of 1893.3 set by China last month.
Rudrankksh shot 632.5 to secure third spot, while Aishwary ended up in fifth position by scoring 631.6. Both qualified for the men’s 10m air rifle individual final and Divyansh secured the eighth spot with his individual tally of 629. However, the rules mention that only two players from each country can qualify for the final and thus Divyansh missed the mark.
Supporters of the Indian contingent back in the country were ecstatic with the achievement of the Indian trio and posted congratulatory messages on X (formerly known as Twitter).
Check some of the reactions below here:
South Korea settled with the silver medal with a total points tally of 1890.1, while China amassed 1888.2 points to take the bronze home.
Aishwary Pratap Singh Tomar wins bronze in men's 10m air rifle
Aishwary Pratap Singh Tomar won the bronze medal in the individual event of men's 10m air rifle later in the day. He beat compatriot Rudrankksh Patil in the shootoff round. Both the Indian shooters were locked at 208.7 points after the conclusion of 20 shots.
Aishwary went on to finish with 228.8 points after getting two more attempts. However, it wasn't enough for the 22-year-old to surpass the eventual gold medallist Sheng Lihao, who notched the world record of 253.3.
This is India's fourth medal in the shooting discipline at the Asiad after the women's 10m rifle team (Mehuli Ghosh, Ramita Jindal, and Ashi Chouksey) won the silver medal along with Ramita Jindal's bronze in women's 10m air rifle.
