India's hopes for a medal in the men's 10m air pistol event at the Paris Olympics were dashed on Saturday, July 27 as both Sarabjot Singh and Arjun Singh Cheema failed to qualify for the final. Sarabjot Singh narrowly missed out on a spot in the final, finishing in ninth place. He tied with Germany's Robin Walter with a score of 577 points but fell short due to fewer inner 10s. Walter managed to secure a qualifying spot with 17 inner 10s compared to Sarabjot's 16. Arjun Singh Cheema also faced disappointment as he finished in 18th place with a score of 574 and 17 inner 10s.
Germany’s Robin Walter, who also tallied a score of 577, managed to secure the final qualifying spot for the men's 10m air pistol final. Walter edged out Sarabjot Singh for the eighth and final spot by virtue of having one more inner 10 (X) than the Indian shooter. Sarabjot Singh, who is only 22, showed promise with a perfect 100 in the fourth series, propelling him into the top three after a shaky start. However, he was unable to maintain this momentum and ultimately missed out on the final. Arjun Singh Cheema, 23, also displayed potential with an impressive series of 10 perfect 10s in his final 10 shots, briefly placing him in fourth position. Unfortunately, he too couldn't sustain this performance and finished outside the top eight. It's worth noting that both Cheema and Sarabjot were part of the Indian team that clinched gold in the 10m air pistol team event at the Asian Games in Hangzhou last year.
India's shooting campaign at the Paris Olympics got off to a disappointing start as both mixed air rifle teams failed to qualify for the final. The pair of Ramita Jindal and Arjun Babuta combined for a total of 628.7 points, while Elavenil Valarivan and Sandeep Singh managed 626.3 points, placing them twelfth overall. Neither team could secure a spot in the final round.
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