NAGOYA: When the 30-member Indian shooting team for the Asian Games was announced, one thing stood out instantly. World Championships medallist Anish Bhanwala was the lone representative in the men's 25m rapid fire pistol.
Given that 30 was the maximum number that India could field, the National Rifle Association of India (NRAI), the governing body of the sport in the country, after careful consideration had made the call to sacrifice Anish's discipline in order to accommodate shooters from other categories with better medal prospects. That's also a reason why there are common athletes -- players who shoot in two or more disciplines like Esha Singh, Manu Bhaker, Rudrankksh Patil.
Despite the odds being stacked against him, Anish, who hails from Karnal (Haryana), did just about enough to survive the qualification phase before going on to finish seventh in the final.
In the final, the 24-year-old made a slow start and that proved to be costly. He did improve in the second and third series but that was not enough. He was joint fourth on scores with three other shooters -- 11 hits each, but seventh in classification due to lower tally in the qualification stage.
Gunhyeok Lee of South Korea finished on top, pipping World Record holder Lianbofan Su of China in shoot-offs after both had a tally of 32 each -- Asian Record. Pakistan's Ghulam Mustafa Bashir captured the bronze.
Earlier, Anish had just managed to scrape into the finals with a total of 576. Shiyu He of China also had the same score but Anish advanced as he had higher inner 10s. The Indian was classified as ninth in the qualification stage but made the top-eight finals as three Korean shooters had finished above him. As per rules, only two shooters from a particular nation are eligible to take part in the finals, which meant Anish was in for the finals.
The Indian shooters finished the campaign with a total tally of 15 medals -- three gold, eight silver and four bronze. South Korea, with two gold medals on the day, pipped India for the second spot in the overall standings. China topped the medal charts, finishing miles ahead of China with a total of 28 medals -- 16 gold, eight silver and four bronze.
In the previous edition in Hangzhou, India had finished with seven gold, nine silver and six bronze medals.