Asian Games: Indian men's 10m air rifle team puts tricolor up top; wins first gold in Hangzhou, sets world record

India's Rudrankksh Balasaheb Patil, Divyansh Singh Panwar, and Aishwary Pratap Singh Tomar together set a world record by scoring a total of 1893.7 points which is 0.4 more than the previous world record held by China, in 10m men's air rifle team event. This is India's first Asian Games 2023 gold medal in Hangzhou.

Hangzhou/Hyderabad:India bagged its first gold in the Asian Games 2023 with its men's 10m air rifle team scripting a world record which was earlier held by China. The team comprising Rudrankksh Balasaheb Patil, Divyansh Singh Panwar, and Aishwary Pratap Singh Tomar moved past China's record by a fraction(0.4 points) to pull off a world record score.

In the individual qualification round, the trio shot a total of 1893.7 and went on to win the gold for the team event. The cumulative score was 0.4 points more than the previous world record score set by China last month in the Baku World Championship.

The trio of Rudrankksh, Olympian Divyansh and Aishwary aggregated 1893.7 in the qualification round to beat back the challenge of the shooting powerhouse China and South Korea on way to the team gold.

In a dominating display by Indian air rifle shooters, the 19-year-old Rudrankksh shot 632.5, Tomar 631.6 and Panwar 629.6 to aggregate the world record score as they edged past South Korea was pushed to second spot (1890.1), while the Chinese team was a distant third with an aggregate score of 1888.2.

"We (the team) gave our best and won gold. We did not know it initially, but were told that it was world record. We said it must be gold then," Rudrankksh said later.

"It was not easy but we have beaten China in team event," Tomar said.

"I am a bit disappointed that I did not win an individual event gold. But I am really happy that I won a team gold. My two team-mates are the best shooters in 10m air rifle."

Anurag Thakur Union Minister for Information and Broadcasting and Youth Affairs & Sports termed the feat as an "outstanding effort" by the trio at the Asian Games in 10m air rifle men's team event.

He attributed the success to the Target Olympics Podium Scheme (TOPS) as having delivered a phenomenal score to est the new Asian Games and world record in the team event.

Heartiest congratulations to our Men's shooting team, comprising of Rudrankksh Patil, Divyansh Singh Panwar, and Aishwary Pratap Tomar for winning the Gold Medal in 10m Air Rifle event, BJP president JP Nadda wrote in X.

You have made the whole nation proud with your exemplary performance and teamwork. I wish you all the best for your future endeavours, he said in the social media post.

"It's a Golden Monday for Team India," Harsh Sanghavi, Gujarat Minister of State- Home, Industries, Transport, Youth & Sports, said in a post. (with PTI inputs)