Indian shooters endured multiple heartbreaks on the first day of their competition in the Tokyo Olympics on Saturday, with the biggest disappointment being Saurabh Chaudhary’s failure to win a medal after topping the qualifications.
Chaudhary could not replicate the form he displayed in the qualifications to finish seventh in the men’s 10m air pistol final.
His roommate and friend Abhishek Verma could not make the eight-man finals, settling for the 17th place with 575 in the event that was considered one of India’s best bets for a podium finish.
In the women’s 10m air rifle event, first-timer Elavenil Valarivan and Apurvi Chandela, too, failed to qualify for the finals, finishing 16th and 36th respectively, at the Akasa Range.
Following his sensational entry into the finals, a lot of hope were pinned on Chaudhary after a dismal show by the women. But the script did not pan out the way the country’s shooting team would have wanted it to.
The Indian ace shot 137.4 to be eliminated in the seventh place. Things were different in the qualifications though, with Chaudhar shooting 586 to finish ahead of a world-class field, thanks to a perfect 100 in the fourth series after back-to-back 98.
Verma was also in contention to make the cut after staging an excellent rally, but two 8s in the final series dashed his hopes.
Earlier in the day, world number one Elavenil finished 16th in the qualifications after shooting 626.5 over six series of 10 shots each, while the more experienced Apurvi, who is also the finals world record holder in the event, settled for the 36th place after aggregating 621.9.