Heartbreak for pistol shooter Adarsh Singh as he misses Olympic qualification by decimal points at ISSF World Championships

India’s Adarsh Singh finished ninth in the men’s 25m rapid-fire pistol event at the ISSF World Championships in Baku, Azerbaijan, on Tuesday. This meant that he narrowly missed sealing a sport for the Paris Olympics.

The importance of fractions in shooting resurfaced yet again as Adarsh finished short of the qualifying position by decimal points. Adarsh shot 583 in qualification, the same as Denys Kushnirov of Ukraine.

The last Olympics spot available in the 25m rapid-fire pistol event went to Estonia’s Peeter Olesk, who also shot a 583, but finished one spot ahead of Adarsh on countback.

Shooters from China, Japan, and Ukraine clinched the other three places available in the rapid-fire pistol event.

Among the other Indians in the fray, Vijayveer Sidhu shot 577 to finish at 25th in the 76-strong field. While Anish Bhanawala, one of the strong contenders for Olympics qualification, shot 575 to finish at the 32nd position.

On Monday, rifle shooter Sift Kaur Samra won India’s sixth Paris Olympics qualification, finishing fifth in the women’s 50m rifle 3 positions. Sift won the quota after she qualified for the final with a national record score of 589. Competitors competed in the elimination round (30x3) and then the qualification round (30x3).

Chinese shooters took home gold and silver in women’s 50m rifle 3 positions. Zhang Qiongyue won gold with a score of 465.3, while compatriot Han Jiayu claimed silver with 463.5 points. American Sagen Maddalena won bronze.

“It was a great experience to compete at the Baku World Championship and win an Olympic quota place,” Sift said post-match interaction.

Rifle shooters Mehuli Ghosh and Akhil Sheoran were the other two who won Paris Olympics quota places in Baku.

India is third on the medals tally with four gold and three bronze medals behind powerhouses China and the USA.

The final Olympics event, the men’s and women’s trap shooting competitions, begin on Wednesday, while the finals are scheduled for Thursday.