Aichi, Sep 26 (IANS) Tilottama Sen and Vidarsa K. Vinod came agonisingly close to adding individual medals to India’s shooting tally at the Asian Games 2026, but both narrowly missed the podium after a dramatic women’s 50m rifle 3 positions final on Saturday.
Tilottama was particularly close to bronze. The Indian shooter entered the final shot for third place holding a 0.3-point advantage over South Korea’s Kim Jieun. However, a 9.4 on her final attempt opened the door for Kim, who responded with a 10.5 to snatch the bronze. Tilottama was left to settle for fourth.
Vidarsa’s challenge ended earlier in the elimination sequence. A 10.4 helped her survive one round and move past Kazakhstan’s Arina Malinovskaya, who finished with 316.7. But another 10.0 on the following shot brought Vidarsa’s final to an end, leaving her fifth with 327.4.
The close finishes came after both Indians had negotiated the qualification round strongly enough to secure places in the eight-shooter final. Tilottama entered the medal contest in third position after posting 590-32x, while Vidarsa’s 588-29x put her among the finalists.
China ultimately produced a one-two finish. Han Jiayu edged compatriot Zhang Liyuan in the gold-medal shootout, sealing victory with a 10.5 on the deciding shot. Han finished on 359.0, setting a new Asian record, while Zhang took silver with 358.8.
Despite the individual disappointment, the qualification performance had already delivered a medal for India. Sen, Vinod and Ashi Chouksey combined for 1,763-90x to claim silver in the team event, with Chouksey’s 585-29x contributing to the overall tally despite her failure to make the individual final.
For Vidarsa, Saturday also brought another silver medal to her Games campaign. She had earlier joined Elavenil Valarivan and Sonam Uttam Maskar in India’s women’s 10m air rifle team that finished second behind China on September 20.
The narrow misses in the individual final, however, ensured that India came away from the 50m rifle 3 positions event with a medal already secured but without an individual podium finish for either of its finalists.
–IANS
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