Asian Games 2023: India bag bronze in 25m rapid fire pistol team event

Vijayveer Sidhu finished fourth in the individual event.

India have started off Day 2 of the Asian Games 2023 on a brilliant note with medals coming in from shooting and rowing just like the first day of the competition. India bagged their third bronze in shooting, thanks to the trio of Vijayveer Sidhu, Anish Bhanwala, and Adarsh Singh in the 25m rapid fire pistol event.

The Indian shooters had a mixed beginning to the event, with Vijayveer and Adarsh scoring less than 290 of the total 300 points up for grabs in the first stage. But Anish, who represented India at the previous Asian Games in Jakarta compensated by scoring 292, which includes two shots of 98. India were expected to raise their game in the second stage, to which Vijayveer responded with scores of 99 and 98.

He ended up with 293 points in the second stage and a total of 582 helped him qualify for the Individual finals. Adarsh was also up to the task as he improved his scoring 289 in the second stage to put India in the reckoning for the silver medal. But, Anish couldn't match his first-stage scoring, as his scores dropped drastically from 292 to 268 in the second stage.

The dip in scores not only sent India out of the race for the silver medal but almost made them lose the bronze as well. Indonesia were trailing behind India by 11 points at one point and the low scores resulted in squandering the lead. Both India and Indonesia finished with 1718 and will share the bronze medal.

Hosts China grabbed the gold with 1765 points, which includes a qualification games record tally of 590/600 by the 34-year-old Li Yuehong. The Republic of Korea showed how good they are in consistency and precision, as they won the silver with 1734 points.