The disappointment continued for Indian shooters on Day 1 of the Paris Olympics 2024 after Sarabjot Singh and Arjun Singh Cheema, who sparkled in patches, failed to qualify in men's 10m air pistol after finishing outside the top eight. The development came just hours after two Indian pairs were eliminated in the 10m air rifle mixed team qualifications stage. Ramita Jindal and Arjun Babuta finished sixth with a total score of 628.7, while Elavenil Valarivan and Sandeep Singh ended 12th with an aggregate score of 626.3.
It was a heartbreaking rejection for Sarabjot, who finished ninth in the qualifications —just one short of the 8-shooter final—with a total score of 577. After a quiet start, Sarabjot, who stood in the second half of the table, roared to the top half after a perfect 100 in the fourth series. An array of 11 straight 10s saw him rise to the top three, but it was followed with a subpar 93 in the next, which was the penultimate series and cost him dear in the end.
Following the end of six series in the qualification round, the 22-year-old Indian and Germany's Robin Walter finished with 577 points, but it was the latter who qualified for the medal round as the eight-placed competitor.
Why Sarabjot Singh missed out on qualification despite finishing with same points as German opponent?
According to the format of the qualification, Water shot one more inner 10 than Sarabjot (16), and hence made it through to the next round. The inner ten is the smallest ring in the 10m range, which signifies bullseye. Sarabjot did shoot a 10, but it wasn't an inner 10, and hence, he finished 9th and subsequently missed the final as only the top 8 qualified.
{{/usCountry}}According to the format of the qualification, Water shot one more inner 10 than Sarabjot (16), and hence made it through to the next round. The inner ten is the smallest ring in the 10m range, which signifies bullseye. Sarabjot did shoot a 10, but it wasn't an inner 10, and hence, he finished 9th and subsequently missed the final as only the top 8 qualified.
{{/usCountry}}Despite the heartbreaking result, Sarabjot called it a learning experience. Speaking to the broadcasters after the event, he said: “I thought I did well from my end, but it was a bad day. I can't understand how all of this happened. I gave it my best. But it's fine, its my first Olympics, it was a good experience and I've learnt a few lessons. I need to better my technique. I'll work on it when I go back to India.”
The Indian shooter also opened up on his perfect series. He said: "I looked behind once [after that series], got distracted and my next series was bad after that. I don't usually look at the scores on the screen, I focus on my technique and how my previous shot was."