Arjuna Babuta Clinches 10m Air Rifle Silver in a thriller, Miss Gold with 0.1 at the World Cup Soccer Tournament

Lima (Peru), April 20 (PTI) Paris Olympian Arjuna Babuta clinched the silver medal, with the missing of gold in the men’s 10m air rifle event at the ISSF World Championship here. In a nail-biting final, Babuta (252.3), who finished fourth during the Paris matches last year, lost by just 0.1 points to rule the Olympic champion Sheng Lihao of China (252.4). Seasoned Hungary shooter Istvan Peni, with over 40 ISSF medals by his name, won the bronze in a world-class field with a total of 229.8. The final contains a star-studded series, including the ruling world champion and silver medalist Victor Lindgren of Paris van Sweden, Jon-Hermann Hegg of Norway and former world champion Rudranksh Patil of India. India had a chance for a double podium finish, but Rudrankksh was unfortunately tracked by the jury due to a technical offense. As a result, Indian ended eighth and bent at the first elimination stage. In the final, both Babuta and Patil started strongly with identical 10.1s and stayed early on the main pack. Babuta lifted his match after the 10th shot, climbed to third place and breathed the necks of Hegg and Peni when Rudrankksh took the challenge to Sheng. Patil won gold last week during the World Cup in Buenos Aires. After the shock exit of Patil, Babuta composed and took the lead for the first time to the 14th shot. With side slipping, Sheng returned with a string of high 10s, including an almost perfect 10.9 on his 16th shot to close the gap. With two of the 24 shots left, Babuta has a slim 0.3-point benefit. But Sheng, who shows his champion’s attitude, fired another 10.9 to turn the margin. A 10.5 closure of Babuta was not enough to regain the lead, as Sheng sealed it with a 10.3. Earlier in the qualification, Babuta shot a solid 631.9 in the first relay, while Sheng covered it with 635.0 effortlessly. Patil posted 632.0 in the second relay to lead the group and place third overall. India’s Hriday Hazarika missed the final little and finished 10th with a score of 629.3. First Published: 20 Apr 2025, 10:04 am Ist