Asian Games 2023: Men's 10m Air Rifle team strike India's first gold medal, set new World Record

Rudrankksh claimed nation's first Paris Olympics quota last year.

India opened its gold account on day 2 of Asian Games 2023 through 10m Air Rifle men's team shooting event. A total 14 teams from different nations battled it out at Fuyang Yinhu Sports Center Shooting Range, Fuyang District, China PR on the second day of the competition. The Indian trio of Aishwary Pratap Singh Tomar, Rudrankksh Patil, and Divyansh Singh Panwar grabbed India's first gold in this edition of the Asian Games, scoring 1893.7 points after six series ahead of South Korea and China.

En route to their gold medal win, the Indian trio also shattered the previous world record of 1893.3 set by China at the ISSF World Championships earlier this month. Aishwary-Rudrankksh-Divyansh achieved a score of 1893.7 to make the world record their own as well as the Asian and Games record.

All three also qualified for the individual finals, but as only two shooters per country are allowed to qualify from each NOC, Divyansh Panwar who finished eighth with 629.6 points — lowest between the three — missed out.

India were brilliant right from the start with some precise shooting. The WR-8 shooter, Rudrankksh Patil, was in brilliant form alongside with Aishwary Pratap Singh Tomar, who is ranked 6th in 50m Rifle 3 Positions men’s event (his primary event). Both consistently shot above 104.5 points. The third shooter Divyansh started slow but caught up in the 4th series to shoot 106.8.

Last year, 18-year-old Patil became the world champion and secured India its first quota for Paris Olympics 2024. In the qualifications here, Patil was second with a score of 632.5, while Tomar was fifth with 631.6, and Panwar finished eighth with 629.6. Team medals are determined by the total qualification scores of each country's shooters. India took a strong lead midway through and finished with a total score of 1893.7.

Yesterday (September 24th), India won a team silver in women's 10m Air Rifle, and 19-year-old Ramita Jindal secured an individual bronze. However, India outperformed the host nation, China today in the men's 10m air rifle team competition. Despite two Chinese shooters making it to the finals, India dominated the team event.

The Indian men's 10m Air Rifle team, including former world champion Patil and Tokyo Olympians Panwar and Tomar, displayed their experience and skill throughout the 75-minute qualification, securing a high score and ultimately winning the gold medal.