Olympics qualifiers: Late slip-up costs Lakshay quota

Kuwait City, January 15

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Asian Games silver medallist Lakshay Sheoran won the men’s trap bronze medal but missed out on one of the two available Paris Olympics quota places by a whisker in the Asian Olympic Qualifiers for shotgun here today.

Sheoran finished third despite leading the 50-shot final for most part. Iran’s 15-year-old Mohammad Beyranvand struck gold and the first quota place. He got the better of China’s Guo Yuhaoa, who missed his second shoot-off shot after both had tied at 40 hits. Guo collected the second quota place.

Earlier, Sheoran shot well to return two rounds of 24 each to total 119 after five 25-shot qualification rounds and claim the fourth spot in the 57-strong field.

He started the six-man final brilliantly to go into the lead after 25 shots, nailing 22 of the targets. The eighth series was his undoing as he missed three and both Beyranvand and Guo beat him by one target. Sheoran bowed out with 33 hits.

India missed yet another quota opportunity in the day when Shreyasi Singh also made the finals of the women’s trap, only to finish fifth with a score of 19. She had shot 115 in qualification to make the top-six in the fourth spot.

In the Asian Olympic Qualifiers for rifle/pistol in Jakarta, Yogesh Singh concluded India’s engagement in the competition with a fourth gold in two days, winning the 25m centre fire pistol with a score of 573. This was India’s 15th gold and 33rd medal of the competition, enabling them to finish on top of the leader board.