Gagan Narang, who skipped the men’s air rifle and three position events due to a heel injury, and was shooting only in the prone, shot the best qualification score at an ISSF World Cup this year.
Narang’s score of 620.6 showed his progress in the prone event as he gears up for the big test at Rio Olympics.
He had shot scores of 617.1 and 615.5 at the World Cups in Bangkok and Rio De Janeiro earlier this year. Interestingly his score of 617.1 at Bangkok had placed him at the 13th position while he finished 52nd today.
Another Olympic-bound shooter Chain Singh shot 624.3 to finish 29th.
Denmark’s Torben Grimmel won the gold, while Germany’s Henri Junghaenel won the silver. Mathew Emmons of USA won the bronze.
In the Men’s 25m Rapid Fire, Gurpreet Singh shot 573 (287+286) to miss the finals by 9 points. The 28-year-old Olympics-bound Army shooter finished 26th in a field of 58 shooters.
Harpreet Singh who had also shot an identical 287 in the first stage with a 100 in the 8-second series, faltered in the second stage as he finished 36th with a total of 568 (287+281). Akshay Suhas Ashtaputre was below par as he placed 52nd with a score of 545 (268+277). Both Harpreet and Akshay are not a part of the Olympic team.
The Results:
Men’s 50m Rifle Prone: 1. Torben Grimmel (Den) 210.6 (632.0); 2. Henri Junghaenel (Ger) 209.6 (628.8); 3. Matthew Emmons (US) 187.2 (631.8); 29. Chain Singh 624.3; 52. Gagan Narang 620.6.
Men’s 25m Rapid Fire Pistol: 1. Zhang Fusheng (Chn) 29 (584); 2. Jean Ququampoix (Fra) 28 (586); 3. Christian Reitz (Ger) 24 (588); 26. Gurpreet Singh 573; 36. Harpreet Singh 568; 52. Akshay Suhas Ashtaputre 545.
