India’s wait for a shooting gold at the Asian Games continued on Thursday after the men’s 10m air pistol team finished fourth, with Kamaljeet, Aakash Bhardwaj and Kedarling Uchaganve all failing to qualify for the individual final.
Kamaljeet came closest to making the eight-shooter final, finishing ninth with a score of 580, just one point below the qualification mark. Bhardwaj was 11th with 579, while Kedarling struggled to a score of 568 to finish 35th.
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Their combined score of 1727 left India three points behind bronze medallists Japan, who finished with 1730. China and Indonesia both registered 1743, with China taking gold on the inner-10 count after recording 70 to Indonesia’s 57.
The result extended India’s gold-medal drought in shooting to five days at the Games. The contingent has so far collected four silver and three bronze medals but is yet to win a gold.
Thursday’s setback followed another disappointing result in the women’s 10m air pistol event, where double Olympic medallist Manu Bhaker and World Cup gold medallists Esha Singh and Suruchi Singh failed to qualify for the individual final.
The results have dented India’s bid to match its performance at the 2023 Hangzhou Asian Games, where the shooting contingent won a record 22 medals, including seven gold.
In the men’s qualification, Kamaljeet remained in contention for a final berth until the closing stages but fell narrowly short. Bhardwaj also stayed within striking distance before eventually missing the cut.
Kedarling, however, struggled to find consistency during his series. The Indian Army shooter repeatedly dropped points and attempted to adjust his pistol settings as his scores declined.
His performance also proved costly in the team competition. India had remained in medal contention, but Japan moved ahead as Kedarling struggled in the latter stages. An eight during his final series further hurt India’s chances, with the team eventually finishing three points behind Japan.
Indonesia’s Muhamad Iqbal Raja Prabovo topped the individual qualification standings with 589, six points ahead of the second-placed Chinese shooter, who registered 583.
India’s High Performance Director Pierre Beauchamp declined to immediately assess the team’s performance, saying he would comment after the country’s shooting campaign at the Games concludes.
"I cannot speak right now. I will only talk after India's competition at the Games are over," he said.
