India’s sub-par run in individual shooting events continued with young gun Tilottama Sen stumbling with a medal in sight in the rifle 50m 3 Positions event at Aichi’s General Shooting Gallery on Saturday. The 18-year-old, who took up the 50m 3P event barely 18 months back, fired a disappointing 9.4 to finish fourth in the final. Compatriot and fellow Asian Games debutant Vidarsa Vinod was fifth, capping the barren run.
Han won the gold with 359 — an Asian record — while Zhang was next with 358.8. South Korea’s Kim Jieun tallied 348.4 to take the bronze. The 50m 3 Positions final comprises of 35 shots to be fired in 22 minutes. Ten shots each are fired in kneeling and prone positions while 15 are fired in the standing position. Han shot a brilliant 594 to equal the Asian record while Zhang was next with 591.
Chinese duo of Han Jiayu and Zhang Liyuan dominated the final and took the top two spots. The Standing section comprises of two series of five shots each followed by a single-shot elimination for the next five shots. Indians had an indifferent start to the final and after the Kneeling round with Tilottama at fifth spot while Vidarsa was sixth. The round went to Kazakhstan’s Arina Malinovskaya. The lead changed after the prone round with China’s Liyuan Zhang moving to the top, followed by Korean Kim Jieun while Arina slid to third. The Chinese were in top form in qualification, with Han and Zhang topping the field. As it turned out, they carried the momentum into the final and sealed a memorable day.
