NAGOYA: It was a case of so close yet so far for skeet shooters Raiza Dhillon and Anantjeet Singh Naruka as they narrowly missed out on individual medals in the ongoing Asian Games.
After a slow start, Raiza did well to rally and get back in the equation for a podium finish. However, those low scores in the opening two series cost her as she was eventually the second-last person to be eliminated. That dreaded fourth spot is all she could end up with a tally of 23.
Parinaaz Dahliwal, the other Indian in the finals, was the first to get eliminated and finished eighth.
China's Yiting Jiang captured the gold medal with a return of 35 (an Asian Record), finishing ahead of Assem Orynbay of Kazakhstan, who had a tally of 30. Thailand's Isarapa Imprasertsuk also displayed nerves of steel to walk away with a bronze medal.
It was a somewhat similar story for Anantjeet, who was seeking his second individual medal in the Games after silver in the 2022 edition. He was slow off the blocks and that proved to be costly as those above him produced strong returns to eventually end his hopes of winning a medal.
Rashid Saleh Al-Athba won the gold in an emphatic fashion, returning with a record-breaking (Asian record) score of 34. China's Jianlin Lyu won the silver while Chinese Taipei's Lee Meng-Yuan grabbed the bronze, finishing just ahead of Anantjeet.
Despite the heartbreaking miss for both, it was a notable day for both.
Raiza captured the team bronze alongside Parinaaz Dhaliwal and Maheshwari Chauhan earlier. They had finished with a combined tally of 331 in the qualification phase to secure the medal. Anantjeet can also take solace from the fact that he had already secured the team bronze alongside Mairaj Ahmad Khan and Bhavtegh Singh Gill.