Saurabh Chaudhary Wins Gold, Abhishek Verma Gets Bronze Medal for India in Men's 10m Air Pistol Event at 2018 Asian Games

In another Gold medal win for India at Asian Games 2018, the 16-year-old shooter, Saurabh Chaudhary won it in the Men’s 10m Air Pistol event. Abhishek Verma, who was a contender, had to settle for the Bronze medal. Indian shooters Saurabh and Abhishek had qualified for the Men's 10m Air Pistol final event in the ongoing multi-nation tournament.

Very less margin separated the Indian duo after the first five rounds. After leading in the initial few rounds, Saurabh fell behind the Chinese counterpart and slipped on the second position.

However, after that, Sourabh regained composure (and the top spot too), only to fall behind his Japanese challenger (Tomoyuki Matsuda), this time. The close competition between the two saw both the players flip-flopping on the first-second spot after every shot. On the other hand, Abhishek was embroiled in a close contest with Korea’s number 3 placed Jin Jogoh.

After 12 rounds in the 10m Air Pistol event, Japan was leading the pack, with India on the second and fourth spot, and the Korean on the third. Asian Games 2018 Live News Updates Day 3: 16-year-old Saurabh Chaudhary Wins Gold Medal in 10m Air Pistols.

Abhishek Verma scored a 10.7 at a crucial time and jumped two places to the second spot, whereas Sourabh Choudhary scored a 10.1 to return to the third spot. After 16 rounds, Japan’s Matsuda was still topping the table with both the Indians on second and third spot respectively.

16-year-old Sourabh was on the second spot with only 0.5 points difference after 18 rounds. China’s Wu J was eliminated after he shot a 9.5 and was out of contention. The battle for Gold boiled down amongst Japan’s Matsuda and India’s Sourabh and Abhishek on second and third spot respectively.

Abhishek Verma had to settle for the Bronze medal. Japan’s shooter scored a howler, an 8.9 shot, after which his total 229.4, saw falling behind Sourabh’s overall score.

Earlier, of the eight shooters, Saurabh secured the top spot in the qualifications after a score of 586. His compatriot Abhishek scored 580 and was placed sixth.

With this win, India has now moved to the seventh spot in the latest medal standings. At Asian Games 2018, India has now won three Gold, 2 Silver and Bronze medals each, so far, and is placed below Iran currently.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Aug 21, 2018 10:45 AM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).