India's sub-par run in individual shooting events continued with young gun Tilottama Sen stumbling with a medal in sight in the rifle 50m 3 Positions event at Aichi's General Shooting Gallery on Saturday. The 18-year-old, who took up the 50m 3P event barely 18 months back, fired a disappointing 9.4 to finish fourth in the final. Compatriot and fellow Asian Games debutant Vidarsa Vinod was fifth, capping the barren run.
Chinese duo of Han Jiayu and Zhang Liyuan dominated the final and took the top two spots. Han won the gold with 359 -- an Asian record -- while Zhang was next with 358.8. South Korea's Kim Jieun tallied 348.4 to take the bronze.
The 50m 3 Positions final comprises of 35 shots to be fired in 22 minutes. Ten shots each are fired in kneeling and prone positions while 15 are fired in the standing position. The Standing section comprises of two series of five shots each followed by a single-shot elimination for the next five shots.
Deep Dive
How did Tilottama Sen perform in the individual 50m 3 Positions event at the Asian Games?
What positions do shooters fire from in the 50m 3 Positions final?
Why was the Indian women's team's performance notable in the 50m 3 Positions event?
Indians had an indifferent start to the final with Tilottama and Vidarsa taking the fifth and sixth spots respectively after the Kneeling series. The round went to Kazakhstan's Arina Malinovskaya but the leaderboard changed after the Prone series when China's Liyuan Zhang climbed to the top, followed by Kim Jieun. Tilottama, with a steady series, crept to the fourth spot.
She upped her game in the Standing round with a superb first series to lead the field after 25 shots. With ten shots to go, the onus was on her to maintain her position, but a total of 50.2 in the next series ensured the lead was frittered away. Han, with a 52.3, surged to top followed by Zhang, and the Chinese pair held on to their positions till the last competition shot.
{{/usCountry}}She upped her game in the Standing round with a superb first series to lead the field after 25 shots. With ten shots to go, the onus was on her to maintain her position, but a total of 50.2 in the next series ensured the lead was frittered away. Han, with a 52.3, surged to top followed by Zhang, and the Chinese pair held on to their positions till the last competition shot.
{{/usCountry}}Third in the field at that stage, Tilottama looked primed for a medal but couldn't maintain the intensity in the home stretch. Vidarsa bowed out in fifth and Tilottama fired a poor 9.4 for her 33rd shot to exit fourth. Kim, over whom Tiiottama held a 0.2-point lead until then, nailed a solid 10.5 to get inside the medal bracket.
“I'm happy to get a team silver in my first Games but disappointed to have missed out on the individual medal. I had my chance. Fourth-place results are the toughest to take,” Tilottama said.
"I don't know what happened after the 25th shot (where I led). I had a good grouping but the scores didn't go my way. On the 33rd shot where I got eliminated, I think I pressed the trigger too early and it went to the 5'o clock direction instead of going straight."
India's national high-performance coach Manoj Kumar called the performance "heartbreaking and disappointing."
"It was a disappointing day. We came so close to a medal today. Both Tilottama and Vidarsa shot very well but the competition was too good," Manoj told HT from Japan.
The 33rd shot that led to Tilottama's exit was a result of a grip gone wrong, the coach said. "We have been working on her grip for the past couple of months and under pressure, with the heart racing and muscle memory not fully formed, Tilottama erred with her grip and the triggering went wrong," he said.
"Ideally, your trigger finger should be in line with the barrel for the shot to go straight, but with a faulty grip, things can go haywire. She'll very young and will learn," the coach added.
Earlier, the trio of Tilottama, Ashi, and Vidarsa secured a team silver, aggregating 1763 to finish behind China who totalled 1773. The Chinese team of Liyuan Zhang, Han Jiayu , and Wang Zifei equalled the Asian and Asian Games record — held by China since Hangzhou 2023 — while Kazakhstan took the team bronze (1754).
With this, India matched their result from the Hangzhou Asiad where Sift, Ashi, and Manini Kaushik had combined for a team silver behind China.
"Ashi was our most in-form shooter, but she had an off day today. It can happen in shooting but that doesn't make her a bad shooter. I am proud of the way Tilottama and Vidarsa shot in such a high-quality match," Manoj said.
The Chinese were in top form in qualification, with Han and Zhang topping the field. Han shot a brilliant 594 to equal the Asian record while Zhang was next with 591. As it turned out, they carried the momentum into the final and sealed a memorable day.
The overall subdued show form the shooting contingent so far also had a bearing on the 3P result, Manoj said. "The women's 10m pistol team was our best bet for the gold, and when they had a bad day, it sullied the mood of the entire contingent. These are all very young shooters, and it is natural for them to feel low. All that adds to the pressure," the coach added.