Asian Games: Aishwary Tomar wins silver for India in Men's 50m Rifle 3-position

Hangzhou: India's Aishwary Pratap Singh Tomar was in the hunt for the gold medal till the penultimate shot, trailing 0.8 parts of a point against China's Linshu Du -- 450.0 as against 450.8 of the Chinese -- in the final of the Men's 50m Rifle 3-position in the Asian Games shooting competitions here on Friday.

He was struck by disaster on his final shot as he could manage only 9.7 as against 9.8 by the Chinese and finished second, losing the gold medal 460.6 to 459.7 in a thrilling final played at the 10m range in the Fuyang Yinhu Sports Centre in Hangzhou on Friday.

Tomar had qualified second behind compatriot Swapnil Kusale in the qualifying stage, Kusale was going strong and in medal contention till he shot a disastrous 7.6 in the third elimination round and eventually finished fourth.

China's Linshu Du won the gold, Tomar took the silver and another Chinese Jiaming Tian took the bronze medal.

Tomar's medal was the fifth medal in shooting for India on Friday -- two gold and three silver medals.

The gold medals came in the Men's 50m 3-position, of which Tomar was a part along with Kusale and Akhil Sheoran, and Women's 10m Air Pistol Individual in which Palak Gulia bagged the top spot. Palak and Esha Singh managed a gold-silver double for India in the Women's 10m Air Pistol Individual competition.

In the Men's 50m Rifle 3-position, all Sheothree Indian shooters were in great form as they finished among the top eight positions in the qualifying round.

Kusale was first, followed by Tomar while Sheoran was placed fifth and could not make it to the final as rules permit only two participants from one country in the final.

Kushal led the final initially but fell behind after the second round. Tomar remained in contention till the end, eventually finishing second.