India’s shooting bid at the Rio Olympic Games could not start off positively as young shooters Ayonika Paul and Apurvi Chandela failed to qualify for the final round of the Women’s 10m air rifle qualification event held at the National Shooting Range in Deodoro in Rio. Ayonika Paul finished the qualifying event at the 47th spot with a score of 403.0 points after the four series in qualification round. Whereas, Apurvi Chandela finished the round at the 34th position having scored only 411.6 points from her four series of shots. The performances of the two shooters means that India will not be represented by any shooter in the final round of the women’s 10m air rifle event.
India’s Ayonika Paul got the event underway by scoring 102 points from her first series. She came back well to get 104.5 points in her second series, accumulating 206.5 points after the two series. The 23-year old then could not score with proper concentration and bagged only 102.5 points in the 3rd series. She finished her fourth series by bagging only 98 points which was further reduced by 4 points due to penalties and ending the qualification round with a total of 403 points. However, Apurvi Chandela started the event on the front foot with a first series score of 104.2 points but followed it up with only 102.7 points in the second series. The shooter went on to shoot 103.3 and 101.4 points in the third and fourth series respectively.
The shooters from other countries who qualified for the final round consist of – China’s duo of Du Li (420.7 points) and Yi Siling (415.9 points). Germany’s Barbara Engleder sprung a surprise with her 420.3 points and finished at the second spot. Here is the complete list of the athletes who progress to the final round:
1. Du Li (China) – 420.7 points
2. Barbara Engledger (Germany) – 420.3 points
3. Elaheh Ahmadi (Iran) – 417.8 points
4. Daria Vdovina (Russia) – 417.4 points
5. Sarah Scherer (USA) – 416.8 points
6. Virginia Thrasher (USA) – 416.3 points
7. Snjezana Pejcic – 416.0 points
8. Yi Siling (China) – 415.9 points
