Kusale squanders lead, Aishwary clinches silver; 3P team wins gold with world record score
FUYANG (HANGZHOU): Sport can be cruel, shooting even more so. And Swapnil Kusale learned it the hard way. He was leading the medal round during the standing eliminations in first position but just like that, lived through the horror of dropping out of the medals count to fourth after a shocking 7.6 on his 41st shot in the men's 50m rifle 3 position final. In an instant, it all ended on a heartbreaking note for the onetime leader here on Friday.
Kusale had entered the final standing position of fifteen shots with a 2.4-point lead. He even led the prone series after the completion of 25 shots, remaining perched on top in the standing position till the ill-fated shot. Till then, he enjoyed a healthy lead over his nearest rival, China's Du Linshu, and looked set for a gold-finish ahead of his teammate Aishwary Pratap Singh Tomar. But we know how it all ended.
Finishing fourth with a total of 438.9, Kusale still had the crowd in his corner as he hit some of the most amazing 10.7s displaying fine consistency. But a moment of indiscretion and the gold slipped out of his grasp. So broken was he, that he left the venue without talking to the waiting mediapersons.
Aishwary, on the other hand, recovered from a poor start in the kneeling position, where he lay sixth after the end of the series, to claim silver with 459.7 points. In the elimination series, he hung on to his second place after shooting a 10.3 on the penultimate (44th) shot, while local favourite Jiaming Tian could only manage a 9.3. Tian won bronze with 448.3.
On the 45th shot, which decided the gold-silver, both Aishwary and eventual gold medallist, Linshu Du of China, hit a poor 9, but the latter prevailed over on the points difference. Du claimed the top spot with an Asian Games record of 460.6, while Aishwary finished his campaign with silver, accumulating 459.7.
Kusale and Aishwary had qualified 1-2 with an Asian and Games record score of 591 in qualification. Another Indian, Akhil Sheoran, also shot a strong 587 to finish fifth but missed out on the individual final due to the two per country rule.
The trio had earlier claimed gold in the 3P team event with a world record score of 1769 - six points more than silver medallists China, who also shot through the previous record of 1761 set by the US last year. South Korea won bronze with 1748.
"I was feeling extremely good coming into the final. We have been practising hard for this competition. Winning a medal means achieving my goals, and I am happy about it," Aishwary said.
"During the last shot when it was down to the two of us, I was thinking, 'I can win a gold medal, I just need to shoot a perfect shot'. But it didn't go that way. Can't help it. My next goal is Paris 2024 and to win a medal for my country," he added.
