World champion Manavjit Singh Sandhu missed the individual bronze medal in the shoot-off, while Zoravar Singh Sandhu relegated the team to the bronze with a below par fare, as Indian shooting continued to struggle, at the shotgun range in the Asian Games here on Friday.
In contrast, playing under the International Olympic Committee (IOC) flag, the shooters of Kuwait were a class act, as Naser Meqlad defended his gold and former World champion Khaled Almudhaf won the silver, helping the team win the team gold as well, with a thrilling one-point margin over Lebanon.
Manavjit Singh did very well to shoot a 49 this morning to make the final with the third best score of 119, two points behind the leader Joe Salem of Lebanon, and one point behind Almudhaf.
Unable to cope
However, in the final, he was unable to cope with the pressure of shooting a single barrel, in tough conditions, and missed seven of the first 12 birds and drove himself out of the race for the gold. He missed only one bird thereafter, but it was of no avail.
Meqlad also had missed three of the first six, but shot very well to win the gold by a solitary-point margin over compatriot Khaled Almudhaf.
The leader Joe Salem could muster only 15 points in the final, while his compatriot, Abdo Al Yazgie, shot 21. The two tied with Manavjit Singh at 136. The Indian missed the first bird in the shoot-off and Yazgie missed the second, leaving Joe Salem the bronze.
“I am happy to get the bronze, and sad as I lost the chance to get the gold. I couldn't see well, as the background is brown, similar to the colour of the target. I moved late,” said Joe Salem.
By moving up from fourth place to the top, Meqlad became the first trap shooter to successfully defend his gold in the Asian Games since it was introduced in 1954.
“I am excited at having won the gold,” said Meqlad.
While Mansher Singh shot 113, Zoravar Singh had a below par 109, as he started with a round of 19 and ended with a 21, that reduced the Indian team to the bronze, 10 points behind Lebanon, and one point ahead of China.
Shagun misses out
In women's trap, Shagun Chowdhary shot 64 and missed the final by two points. With Seema Tomar (61) and Shreyasi Singh (56) as the other members, the Indian team missed the bronze by one point to Korea.
