Asian Games :Ramita wins bronze for India in women’s 10m Air Rifle, Mehuli finishes fourth

Hangzhou: India’s young shooter Ramita won a bronze medal while teammate Mahuli Ghosh finished fourth in the women’s 10m Air Rifle competition at the 19rh Asian Gamesat Hangzhou here on Sunday.

The 19-year-old Ramita finished with a score of 230.1 to finish third behind two Chinese shooters to claim India’s second medal on the opening day of shooting competitions at the Fuyang Yunhi Shooting Range just outside Hangzhou City.

Ramita had qualified for the final in the second position Sunday but a poor score midway through the final hampered her progress and she had to be satisfied with a bronze medal.

The score of 9.9 pulled her back and though the youngster from Haryana tried to recover with consistent shots in the range of 10.7 in her last five attempts, it was still not enough in the end to help her overtake the Chinese opponent.

“It is part of the game. You can’t think too much about one bad shot and rather focus on your one. I did just that after that bad shot and I am happy to win my first medal in the senior category,” said Ramita after her victory.

She said she will now focus on the upcoming Asian Championship where she will get a chance to win a quota place for the Paris Olympics. Though the Baku World Cup last month was Ramita’s first international event at the senior level, the young shooter, who has won gold in Junior World Championships for India, said she was very happy to have won two medals on the first day of competition.

Ramita had earlier helped the Indian win a silver medal in team competition. She partnered seasoned Mehuli Ghosh and Ashi Chouksey in the team competition and was the best Indian shooter on display on Sunday.

Fellow Indian Mehuli Ghosh finished fourth with a score of 208.3. Mehuli has already secured the Olympic quota of Paris 2024 by winning a bronze medal in the Baku World Cup.

On Sunday she could not produce her best and had to settle for fourth place.
IANS