Arjun Babuta Narrowly Misses Olympic Medal in 10m Air Rifle

India's Arjun Babuta narrowly missed an Olympic medal, finishing 4th in the Men's 10m Air Rifle. China's Sheng Lihao won gold, Sweden's Victor Lindgren took silver, and Croatia's Miran Maricic earned bronze. Babuta's final shot fell short, reflecting visible disappointment as he missed the podium.

The heartbreak in shooting continued for India after Arjun Babuta came within sniffing distance of an Olympic medal only to let the nerves get the better of him, finishing 4th in the Men's 10m Air Rifle event. Emotions were visible on Babuta's face when he realized that his final shot wasn't enough to secure a podium finish.

China's 19-year-old Sheng Lihao, who dominated the event, clinched the gold medal with 252.2 points. Sweden's Victor Lindgren secured silver with 251.4 points, while Croatia's emotional Miran Maricic settled for bronze with 230.0 points. Babuta started strong, shooting 10.7 in his first shot, but fell to fourth after a 10.2 in his second shot, totaling 20.9 out of a possible 22 points.

Babuta maintained the fourth position after a 10.5 in his third shot and briefly overtook Sweden's Lindgren with a 10.4 in his fourth shot. However, China's Lihao Sheng maintained his lead with 53.4/55 after five shots, while Babuta slipped to fourth with 52.4/55.

In the second series, Babuta's consistency moved him to the second position after two shots, scoring 84 after eight shots. He ended the second series in third place with 105/110, trailing China's Sheng.

The elimination round began with Babuta firing a 10.6, moving him to second. He briefly trailed China's Sheng by just 0.1 points, raising hopes for a gold. A 9.9 shot, however, saw him fall behind Sheng by a full point. Sweden's Lindgren, demonstrating consistency, overtook Babuta for the silver.

Babuta fought back with a 10.7 to retake second place but succumbed to pressure, finishing fourth after a 9.5 shot. Previously, he secured a final round spot by finishing seventh in the qualification round on Sunday with a total score of 630.1 points.

This disappointment follows Babuta's narrow miss in the mixed team event with partner Ramita Jindal on Saturday, where they finished sixth in the qualification round, just missing out on a final berth. (ANI)