CHENNAI: It was a case of so near, yet so far for shooter Adarsh Singh. The young 25m rapid-fire pistol shooter, who was among the leaders after Stage 1 of qualification in the ongoing ISSF World Championships in Baku, was in contention to make the cut for the finals, where he could get the all-important Olympic quota for India. However, the shooter missed out on both by the finest of margins. Some below-par scores in the middle and last part of Stage 2 eventually cost the Indian shooter.
Denys Kushnirov of Ukraine finished with a tally of 583 to become the sixth and final qualifier. Adarsh had the same tally but he had lesser inner 10s (speak about precision). What was more agonising for Adarsh was the fact that another shooter beat him by the criterion. Peeter Olesk of Ukraine, who finished eighth; a spot ahead of Adarsh, took the fourth and final quota. Other quota earners were China, Japan and Ukraine. Vijayveer Sidhu (577) and Anish (575), the other Indians who were part of the event, finished 25th and 32nd, respectively.
It’s the second time a pistol shooter from the country has missed out by a whisker. Pistol shooters from India are yet to win a single Olympic quota. Rhythm Sangwan had done well to reach the women’s 25m pistol final before finishing eighth to return empty-handed. India have won a total of three quotas so far in this ongoing World Championships. Trap shooters will be looking to add to that tally on Wednesday. Overall, India have secured six Olympic quotas so far.