'Pistol Shooters Redeemed Well With Gold': Kalikesh Singh

Kalikesh's Reaction

"Great day for Indian shooting; we finally got the elusive gold after a bit of a disappointment. However, our shooter redeemed themselves well with an Asian record and a gold. Amazing performance from Suruchi and Kamaljeet. We have a lot of shooting left here, and I am hopeful India will do well in the remaining events," Kalikesh told IANS on Friday.

Earlier Disappointments in the Pistol Events

Earlier, India drew a blank in the men's and women's 10m pistol team, and in the individual event, Kamaljeet, Kedarling Balakrishna and Aakash Bhardwaj missed out on a medal in the men's 10m air pistol team and also failed to qualify for the individual finals, reflecting a fairly disappointing run in these specific categories before the mixed team's breakthrough.

A Painfully Close Miss for the Women's Team

Moreover, there was an agonising end for the Indian trio Esha Singh, Manu Bhaker and Suruchi Inder Singh in the team final, as they lost the medal, with the two inner-10s standing between them and bronze medallists Vietnam. Later, Manu finished fifth in the individual final. But the mixed team of Suruchi and Kamaljeet broke the draw and got India the elusive gold on Friday, turning around what had otherwise been a frustrating stretch of results for India's pistol shooters.

Reflecting on the Broader Campaign

Reflecting on India's disappointing show in the pistol team and individual event, the NRAI chief added, "In the first two days we got five medals, then skeet contributed three, and today we got two medals. This is a fairly big number of medals, but what we were missing out on was gold. When you go zero in the finals, it depends on the performance at that time of that athlete. We have to figure out how we have to work with an athlete, coaching and performance team so that we can get more golds," offering a candid assessment of where the team's broader performance still needs improvement despite the overall medal tally.

Looking Ahead to the 25m Pistol Event

Manu and Esha next join the 2018 Asian Games champion Rahi Sarnobat in the 25m pistol event to open their respective medal accounts, giving both shooters, who had narrowly missed out on medals earlier in the campaign, a fresh opportunity in a new event.

Confidence in the Upcoming Team

"We have a great team of Esha, Manu and Rahi, an experienced team. They will do well," Kalikesh concluded, expressing confidence in this experienced trio as India's shooting campaign continues into its next phase of competition at the Games.