CHENNAI: Vivaan Kapoor was in a happy flow on Thursday.
The trap shooter from India produced a shooting masterclass to claim a silver medal and capture the all-important LA28 Olympics quota for the country.
In a field that comprised Olympic champions and world champs, Vivaan was ice cool throughout the 30-shot final in the ongoing ISSF World Championships in Doha, Qatar. He just had a single miss — which came towards the closing stages — and eventually bagged the second prize after losing the shoot-offs.
This is India's third quota so far after Jaypal Malviya (men's 10m air pistol) and Niraj Kumar (men's 50m rifle 3 positions).
As more-renowned shooters erred, the Indian, along with Alfaihan Abdulrahman of Kuwait, shot down the clay targets with aplomb. Just when it seemed like the two could potentially head into shoot-offs for the gold medal, Abdulrahman shot a blank to tilt the contest in the Indian's favour.
However, in the final five-shot series, Vivaan also hit a blank, ensuring a shoot-off in the process.
In the shoot-off, Vivaan was the first to err — his third shot — and Abdulrahman converted his chance to walk away with top honours. Paris Olympics silver medallist Qi Ying won the bronze to clinch the third and final quota on offer in the event.
The Jaipur shooter, who was making his first appearance in a final of a World Championship, thanked his coaches and said that he was just looking to do his job. "I just gave my best. I just foucssed on my job. I have been up against all these shooters, the experience helped me. Also, big thanks to Peter Wilson for training us before this competition (...). In the end, I was just trying to do my job," Vivaan told ISSF YouTube channel.
"I feel it's a great thing that I could do for the country. Let's hope I can give my best further more and hope to shoot better and better," he added.
Jaijee Udaivir Singh, the other Indian in the final, finished sixth.