The Indian men's 10m air pistol team overcame a slow start and shot an excellent second half in qualification to strike yet another shooting gold at the ongoing Asian Games in Hangzhou on Thursday.
The trio of Sarabjot Singh, Arjun Singh Cheema, and Shiva Narwal combined to take home the team gold with 1733. They beat China by only one point, with Singh and Narwal achieving a perfect shot (10) to get the top spot. Vietnam rounded off the podium with a 1730.
Singh and Cheema also made the individual final after a remarkable recovery to finish in the top eight. Singh was fifth with a total of 530 while Cheema was eighth with 578. Narwal, though, was 14th with 576. The final will be at 9 AM today - and you can follow the action LIVE right here.
All three of them had an indifferent start and needed a big push in the second half of the qualification to make the cut in a generally low-scoring qualification.
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Team medals in shooting have been getting mixed reviews this Asian Games, as they are decided based on the cumulative score of a country's shooters in individual qualification. However, the men's 10m air pistol team showed that despite being won individually, it showcases the team's depth and consistency.
Shooting qualification is not shown live but the live scorecard showed what a comeback India had to mount. At the halfway mark, India were sixth and seventh in the team standing after a slow start for Singh and Narwal, who started with 92.
But as the qualification neared its end, the Indians stepped up and were soon in the silver medal position in team and close to the final in individual. For instance, Singh started with two 95 series but followed it up with a solid 97, 98, 97 and 98.
China overtook Uzbekistan and were leading the charts before the last two Indians took their shots, both needing perfect 10s for gold and getting there.
The men's 10m air pistol is an event India had shined in at the last Asian Games, with then India debutants, a certain 16-year-old Saurabh Chaudhary, and Abhishek Verma making it a historic double podium for India.