In his debut Olympics, Indian shooter Arjun Babuta placed fourth in the men’s 10m air rifle competition, almost missing out on a medal.
In his first Olympic competition, Indian shooter Arjun Babuta gave in to the pressure and placed fourth in the men’s 10m air rifle event on Monday, almost missing out on a medal.
Miran Maricic of Croatia scored 10.7, and Babuta responded with a critical 9.5 to score 208.4, destroying his hopes of finishing on the podium.
The 25-year-old scored a 10.7 to start the final and a 10.2 to finish. His third effort of 10.5 put him in fourth position, and his fourth attempt of 10.4 put him in third. With a 10.6, he ended the first series.
He began the second series with a 10.7, shot a 10.5, and then in the first elimination series, he shot an almost flawless 10.8, which propelled him to second place and cut the difference between him and the Chinese world record holder Sheng Lihao to just 0.1 points.
Babuta, however, lost out on a medal because he was unable to keep up his form. With an Olympic record of 252.2, Lihao won gold, Victor Lindgren of Sweden took second place with 251.4, and Miran Maricic of Croatia took bronze with 230.
Who is Arjun Babuta?
Arjun Babuta was born in Punjab and, after completing school, moved to Chandigarh because of his father’s work. In college, he developed an interest in shooting, and in 2013, he got to know Olympic gold medallist Abhinav Bindra.
He was introduced by Bindra to Colonel JS Dhillon, his coach, who suggested that he take up 10m air rifle shooting. Babuta won his first medal at the Chandigarh State Shooting Championship the same year.
Also Read: Who is Sarabjot Singh?
Babuta set a career-high in 2016 at a Czech Republic shooting competition with a score of 632.4. He had a hiatus from the sport due to health concerns, but he returned to form with a third-place result in the Khelo India Tournament. His latest accomplishments at the global championship include multiple medals.
Arjun Babuta’s Achievements
- World Championships: 1 Gold
- World Cup: 2 Gold, 1 Silver
- Asian Championships: 2 Silver
- Paris Olympics Qualification
Babuta secured his spot for the Paris Olympics by winning a silver medal at the Asian Shooting Championships in Changwon last year. He scored 633.4 points in the qualification round and 251.2 in the final.
