At the Lusail Shooting Range, Rashid Hamad, Masoud Hamad, and London Olympic bronze medallist Nasser al-Attiyah shot 120 points each out of 125 in the qualification stage as Qatar’s total of 360 earned them a top place in the team event, ahead of Kuwait and Kazakhstan.
However, disappointment was in store for the trio as none of them could reach the final in the individual competition, thus missing out on a place at the Tokyo Games next year. Rashid, Masoud and Nasser all were involved in a qualifying shoot-off with five others for four places in the final, but could not clear the intense competition.
Nasser will be the most disappointed of all. Having been in a good position after three rounds on day one, the Qatari legend shot a 21 in the fourth round, which dealt a huge blow to his final hopes. Though he shot a perfect 25 in the fifth and final round, it only meant he was involved in an eight-way shoot-off.
The windy conditions at the Lusail range did not help their cause, which later Nasser admitted. “The concentration was good. Yesterday we had good results, but today we couldn’t do anything because there was sandstorm and a lot of rain. Yet, we did our job winning the team gold medal,” Nasser said. “Individually, we were in the shoot-off but all three of us were not lucky. There were eight qualifiers with a score of 120 and it was stiff competition. But this is how the sport is. You can’t do much in such situations. I’m glad for the team because it’s a strong team and to win an Asian championships gold is great,” he added.
Nasser was hoping to receive a wild card for Tokyo, in what it will be his seventh Olympics. “It will not be easy to qualify for the Olympics but we will see. I have some good results and I hope to receive a wild card,” he said.
Meanwhile, it was a double delight for India in the skeet as Angad Vir Singh Bajwa won gold, while Mairaj Ahmad Khan picked up a silver to go with two Olympics quotas. Their medals ensured India secured a record 15 quota places for the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, easily surpassing the 12 for the 2016 Rio Games and 11 for London 2012.
There was a shoot-off for the gold medal and Bajwa prevailed 6-5 against his compatriot after both were tied on 56 at the Lusail Shooting Complex. The bronze medal and the last quota place went to Saud Habib of Kuwait.
Earlier, teenager Aishwary Pratap Singh Tomar’s secured India a Olympic quota in the men’s 50m rifle 3-position after he won bronze.
It was a closely contested final, with Tomar, South Korea’s Kim Jonghyun and China’s Zhonghao Zhao competing amongst themselves for the podium. Tomar ultimately had to settle for bronze with a score of 449.1, while the Korean nabbed top spot on the podium with a lead of just 0.8.
Meanwhile, continuing India’s impressive performance at the championships, the duo of Manu Bhaker and Abhishek Verma got the better of compatriots Saurabh Chaudhary and Yashaswini Singh Deswal 16-10 to win the gold medal in the 10m air pistol mixed team event. Bhaker and Verma shot 577 and 387 in the two qualifications, while Chaudhary and Deswal managed 576 and 387. In the junior’s Mixed team air pistol, India’s Esha Singh and Sarabjot Singh won gold.
The results:
Mixed team Air pistol: 1. India (Manu Bhaker, Abhishek Verma) 16 (387, 577); 2. India-A (Yashaswini Singh Deswal, Saurabh Chaudhary) 10 (387, 576); 3. Iran 17 (386, 575); 4. China 15 (387, 581).
Men: 50m rifle 3-position: 1. Kim Jonghyun (Kor) 459.9 (1178); 2. Zhao Zhonghao (Chn) 459.1 (1173); 3. Aishwary Pratap Singh Tomar (Ind) 449.1 (1168)
Team: 1. China 3505; 2. Korea 3499; 3. India 3477.
Skeet: 1. Angad Vir Singh Bajwa (Ind) 56(6) 120 (14, 22); 2. Mairaj Ahmad Khan (Ind) 56(5) 120 (14, 24); 3. Saud Mukhamediyev Habib (Kuw) 45 (120)14, 23.
Team: 1. Qatar 360; 2. Kuwait 358; 3. Kazakhstan 357; 4. India 357.
Women:
Skeet: 1. Wei Meng (Chn) 20 (124); 2. Zhang Donglian (Chn) 18 (120); 3. Kim Minji (Kor) 17 (117)3.
Team: 1. China 363; 2. Thailand 350; 3. India 339.
Junior women:
Mixed team air pistol: 1. India (Esha Singh, Sarabjot Singh) 16 (381, 569); 2. Korea 10 (378, 574); 3. China-A 16 (376, 569); 4. China 10 (376, 565).
