The 20-year-old's top prize, however, did not translate into an Olympic quota for India as Apurvi Chandela and Anjum Moudgil have already secured the maximum two berths available per country in last year's World Championships.
As the curtain comes down on 2014, here's a look at the five best performances over the last 12 months. And, guess what? Two Indian sportsmen figure in the list!
The remaining qualification rounds will be followed by the six-man final on Sunday. 81 shooters are in the fray.
Following is the schedule of Indian contingent on Day 7 of the Asian Games:
India have done reasonably well in the quadrennial continental event, only twice finishing outside the top eight since hosting the first Asiad in 1951.
There was some cheer for India after two barren days as the duo of Jitu Rai and Heena Sidhu triumphed in the 10 metre mixed team air pistol event of the ISSF World Cup.
India's junior shooting coach Jaspal Rana advised his wards, urging them to follow in the footsteps of Abhinav Bindra and not take things for granted.
Vijayveer Sidhu picked up his third gold medal of the ongoing ISSF Junior World Cup in Suhl, Germany, combining with Rajkanwar Singh Sandhu and Adarsh Singh to clinch the men's 25m pistol event.
Beijing Olympics gold medalist Abhinav Bindra, who is competing in his fifth Games, led the Indian contingent at the parade of nations during the Open Ceremony of the Rio Olympics on Friday night.
Jitu Rai, the world number one in men's 50m pistol, shot a 555 in his elimination round to sail through to the qualification round of the event, to be contested on Thursday, along with the finals, on day four of the International Shooting Sport Federation (ISSF) World Cup (Rifle/Pistol/Shotgun) being played in Rio De Janerio's Olympic Shooting Centre.
India's top pistol shooter Heena Sidhu secured an Olympic quota for the country after she led from start to finish and claimed the gold medal in women's 10-m air pistol on Day 1 of competition at the Asia Olympic Qualifiers for Shooting, in New Delhi, on Wednesday.
Sift Kaur Samra gave ample proof of her immense potential, earning India its sixth Paris Olympic quota place.
Indian shooter Prakash Nanjappa will compete at the Rio 2016 Olympic Games three years after being told by doctors that his career was over. In 2013, he suffered 'a type of stroke or paralytic attack' at a world cup event in Granada, Spain, and was diagnosed with a type of paralysis known as Bell's palsy, chiefly on the right side of his face. "The scariest part was when the doctor said I would have to stop shooting," Nanjappa said. "That motivated me to come back.
Postponement of shooting tournaments, cancellation of trials and training camps hardly matter at this point to one of India's biggest young achievers in sport, Manu Bhaker, who is hoping to see the world win the battle against the coronavirus pandemic. The pandemic has cast serious doubts over the Tokyo Olympic Games but the 18-year-old, a medal prospect at the quadrennial extravaganza, is currently not thinking about things that are beyond her control.
World rapid champion Viswanathan Anand came up with a fine performance to be placed tied second in the blitz tournament of the Altibox Norway chess tournament, in Stavanger.
He joins pistol shooter Jitu Rai, rifle shooters Apurvi Chandela and Gagan Narang, who all had sealed berths earlier.
The team of Rahi Sarnobat, Anisa Sayyed and Heena Sidhu won India a bronze medal in women's team event of 25m pistol of the 17th Asian Games in Incheon on Monday. South Korea won gold while China took silver.
The return of shooting, which was controversially dropped from the Birmingham CWG earlier this year, is a welcome development for India.
The champion shooter's gold medal is the result of hard work, patience and humility.
With a rape case going on against him, he happens to be jobless, having being sacked as assistant coach from the Sports Authority of India last year.
India's in-form shooter Jitu Rai gave the country its first gold medal in the 17th Asian Games, cutting through a tough field to finish on top in the 50m pistol event in Incheon on Saturday.
India finished the International Shooting Sport Federation (ISSF) tournament with 10 gold, nine silver and five bronze for a total of 24 medals.
Ace shooter Jitu Rai won India's first senior medal at the 13th Asian Shooting Championship, finishing second behind Korea's Park Daehun in the finals of the men's 50m pistol, in Kuwait City, on Wednesday.
India's schedule at the Asian Games in Hangzhou, on Tuesday, September 26.
Continuing his good run of form, pistol shooter Jitu Rai clinched a silver medal in the ISSF World Cup in Maribor, Slovenia, after Ayonika Paul bagged her maiden international medal as a senior shooter by settling for a bronze in the 10m air rifle event.
The participation of Indian athletes in Friday's Tokyo Olympic Games opening ceremony will be kept to a 'bare minimum' in view of the COVID-19 threat, while only six officials from the contingent will be allowed to take part in the event.
Commonwealth Games champion Parupalli Kashyap knocked out top seed Lee Hyun Il of Korea in the men's singles opening round of the US Open Grand Prix Gold badminton tournament in Anaheim, United States.
Paralympic medallist Singhraj Adhana won two gold medals on the final day as India produced their best-ever performance at the Para Shooting World Cup, finishing with 10 medals in Munich.
Summary of sports events and persons who made news on Thursday
India secured their 11th Olympic quota from shooting, on Friday, when Ayonika Paul bagged the silver in women's 10m air rifle.
One of India's strongest Olympic medal hopes, ace shooter Manu Bhaker feels preparations 'cannot get better' than the ongoing training-cum-competition tour of Croatia as she works on her consistency ahead of the Tokyo Games.
Six athletes from the track and field, shooting and weightlifting disciplines were on Wednesday inducted into the Target Olympic Podium Scheme, with the Sports Ministry including discus thrower Seema Punia and leaving out seasoned shooter Gagan Narang.
With a jam-packed schedule brimming with both legendary athletes and captivating storylines, Paris 2024 promises unforgettable moments.
Ace marksman Gagan Narang added the 50m rifle prone position gold to the one he won earlier in the 10m event, while Olympic quota earner Annu Raj Singh grabbed the air pistol crown in the Kumar Surendra Singh Memorial Shooting Championships.
Young Indian shooter Nischal won the silver medal in the women's 50 metre Rifle 3 Positions at the ISSF World Cup, in Rio De Janeiro, on Monday. It was India's second medal on the concluding day of the tournament.
The IOA have decided to boycott the CGF General Assembly in Rwanda, also withdrawing candidatures of two of its officials from the September elections there.
Teenage prodigies Anish Bhanwala, Manu Bhaker and Elavenil Valarivan will carry India's medal hopes in shooting at the Asian Games, beginning in
Ace shooter Abhinav Bindra shot 208.9 to win the gold medal in the 10 meter air rifle event while Vijay Kumar had to be content with silver in the centre fire event on the concluding day of the 57th National Shooting championship, in New Delhi.
Shooter Esha Singh becomes youngest to donate to the PM's relief fund.
Unlike some of India's top pistol shooters, Gagan Narang is not 'deeply saddened' but ready to embrace change in Olympic events.
