Paris Paralympics 2024 Shooting: Nihal Singh, Rudransh Khandelwal fail to qualify for P4 mixed 50m pistol SH1 finals

Nihal Singh and Rudransh Khandelwal had a disappointing shooting campaign at the Paris Paralympics 2024, as both para-shooters failed to qualify for the P4 mixed 50m pistol SH1 finals. Among 29 participants, only those who finished in the top eight qualified for the finals.

The qualification round held at the Chateauroux saw Nihal and Rudransh finish outside the top eight. While Nihal ended the qualification round at the 19th position with a score of 522, Rudransh could only manage 517 to finish 22nd. Both Singh and Khandelwal started the event with under par results in series one.

However, Rudransh did appear to make a comeback in the second series, as he started with a 10 to break into the top eight. He later followed it up with a 10 and two 9s to climb up to fifth. Nihal started series two with a 10, nine and another 10, only to give it away with a seven and eight in his next two attempts.

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Nihal and Rudransh falter in final phases of the shooting qualification round to get eliminated

At the end of series three, Rudransh Khandelwal was looking set to maintain a position in top eight. However, it all went downhill from there. With a six in series four, Khandelwal lost most of his progress.

Alternatively, Nihal Singh could never get traction in the second half of the shooting qualification round. Singh finished 23rd in Series 4 after shooting a gloomy five. By the time the last series began, both Indians were effectively eliminated from contention.

The duo tried their best in series five and six and even got a few exceptional shots in. However, they could not maintain any consistency and ended up being eliminated. In the finals, China's shooting talent Yang Chao went on to clinch the gold medal.