Asian Games: Aishwary, Swapnil, Akhil win gold in men's 50m rifle 3P in Hangzhou; shooting tally surpasses Doha 2006 event

Aishwary Pratap Singh Tomar, Swapnil Kusale, and Akhil Sheoran, secured a gold medal in the men's 50 rifle 3 positions while scripting a world record in qualification besides setting a new Asian and an Asian Games record in qualification round. Aishwary and Swapnil - both of them shot 591 each and were placed first and second in the qualification round.

Hyderabad:India's men's 50m rifle 3 postions team trio - Aishwary Pratap Singh Tomar, Swapnil Kusale, and Akhil Sheoran, secured a gold medal on Friday after they finished with an aggregate score of 1769 and began the nation's day on a golden note, at Asian Games underway at China's Hangzhou.

This is India's 15th medal in shooting in its present outing.

The win also scripted a new world record in qualification and took Aishwary and Swapnil to the individual final round. The duo also scripted a new Asian and a Asian Games record in qualification round. The duo, in order, was placed first and second after the qualification round.

Aishwary shot an aggregate of 591 and his compatriot Swapnil also shot the same score while Akhil Sheoran managed to post 587 points. The trio overcame the Chinese challenge with ease with their score aggregating to 1769 which helped them finish on the top of the podium.

The hosts lagged behind by a clear six points with 1763 points and were followed by South Korea which finished at a distant third with 1748 points.

Akhil who finished fifth with his 587 points in qualification could not proceed to the eight-team finals due to the Games regulations that only two shooters per country can participate in the individual medal round.

Surpassing Doha 2006 shooting medal haul- Indian shooting contingent added another feather to its cap as it surpassed highest ever medal haul in shooting after the Doha 2006 edition of the Games.

With this 3 position Gold from the Men, India surpasses the highest 14 medal haul at Doha 2006, Joydeep Karmakar, an Olympian, said in a post in social media.