Indian shooters` disappointing run continues

Doha: It was another day of despair for the Indian shooting contingent with the women`s 25m pistol team failing to win a medal at the Asian Shooting Championship.

With just two days remaining in the competition, India is in danger of repeating the result of the last championship in 2008 when they failed to win a single quota place for the Olympics. Commonwealth Games gold medallist Anisa Sayeed failed in her attempt to win a second quota for India in the event after shooting a score of 576 to finish 14th. Sayeed started off on the wrong foot with scores of 93, 94 and 94 in the precision stage which left her way down at the halfway mark. She finally hit her stride in the second course with scores of 99, 96 and 100 in duelling but the damage had already been done. The shoot-off for the eighth position in the final closed at 578 and Sayeed fell two points short. Rahi Sarnobat, who had bagged a quota place for India in 2011, was equally off the pace with a disappointing tally of 574 that saw her finish 16th. Sonia Rai also finished at the same score of 574 to end any hopes of a quota. Annu Raj Singh, shooting in the Minimum Qualifying Score (MQS), asserted her class by shooting the best card of the day. Singh, who won an individual bronze in the 10m air pistol along with the team gold, finished with a score of 578, while Shweta Chaudhry shot a poor 558. PTI