Annu Raj Singh became the fifth Indian shooter to book a berth in next year's London Olympics after clinching the 10m Air Pistol silver medal at the ongoing ISSF World Cup in Fort Benning, USA.
India's women shooters continue to disappoint as Rahi Sarnobat and Annu Raj Singh failed to qualify for the final round of the women's 25m pistol event after finishing 19th and 30th in the qualification at the London Olympics, on Wednesday.
The women's Air Pistol team of Annu Raj Singh, Shweta Chaudhry and Heena Sidhu finished ahead of the formidable Chinese by just a point to win the gold, while veteran Raj Kumari bagged India's second gold of the day, winning the 50m women's prone by a comfortable margin the Asian Championships.
Indian shooters continued to misfire at the Olympic Games as Heena Sidhu and Annu Raj Singh bowed out of the women's 10m air pistol event after failing to qualify for the finals in London on Sunday.
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.
India's shooter Apurvi Chandela had a gold medal in her grasp before a slip up in the 19th shot pushed her outside the medal bracket at the ISSF World Cup Rifle/Pistol stage.
The 22-year-old former junior world champion recorded 236.7 in the eight-women final of the season's fourth World Cup for pistol and rifle shooters.
Olympic bronze-medallist Gagan Narang won a silver medal in the men's 50m rifle prone event of the Commonwealth Shooting Championships in Brisbane.
The national championship silver and junior world championship bronze-medallist, however, could not replicate her qualification form in the final, only managing a sixth-place finish with a score of 116.
Former world number one Heena Sidhu narrowly missed out on a berth in the finals of women's 10m air pistol event on day four of competition at the ISSF World Cup (Rifle/Pistol) in Changwon on Monday.
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.
Manu Bhaker claimed the gold medal in the women's 10am air pistol, while birthday boy Deepak Kumar gifted himself a bronze medal in men's 10m air rifle at the 14th Asian Championship.
A summary of sports events and persons who made news on Friday
Young Akhil Sheoran clinched the gold medal in men's 50m rifle 3 position with plenty to spare as India continued their superlative run at the ISSF World Cup in Guadalajara, Mexico.
Woman shooter Heena Sidhu created history by becoming the first pistol exponent from India to win a gold medal at the ISSF World Cup finals in Munich, Germany.
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.
Summary of sports events and persons who made news on Friday.
Captain Rani Rampal's clinical strike helped India beat South Africa 1-0 to seal their place in the semi-finals of the women's hockey event at the 2018 Commonwealth Games in Gold Coast, on Tuesday.