Doha, Dec 07: Gagan Narang produced a spectacular performance in the final round to pip Turkmenistan`s Igor Pirekeev and clinch the men`s 50m rifle three position shooting bronze at the Asian games here today.
Pirekeev was tied with China`s Lei Zhang for the second spot on 1165 points, three ahead of Narang (1162), at the end of preliminary rounds.

But the Indian showed nerves of steel to finish his finals round with a 99.9 for his second bronze in the event while Pirekeev melted under pressure to score 96. Narang`s first bronze came in 10 m air rifle team event.

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In fact, Narang consistently hit the bull`s eye for a series of 9.3, 10.5, 9.8, 10.4, 9.3, 10.1, 9.4, 10.7 and 10.6.

In comparison, Pirekeev was patchy with shots of 8.2, 10.1, 10.0, 10.2, 10.1, 10.1, 8.0, 10.5, 10.1 and 8.7.

The gold and silver both went to China.

Fu Zhang was streets ahead of the competition with 1170 after the preliminaries and although his form dipped in the final where he shot 98, his early lead ensured him the top place in the podium.

Lei Zhang, unlike Pirekeev, was less threatened by Narang`s late charge to fire 101.8 in the final and walked away with the silver.

India also claimed the team bronze while China and Kazakhstan bagged the gold and silver respectively.

Narang`s 1162 in the preliminaries combined with Sanjeev Rajput`s 1154 and Imran Hasan Khan`s 1140 ensured India`s 12th medal from the shooting ranges.

The Chinese tallied 3494 and the Kazaks 3457 for the top team honours, awarded based on preliminary scores.

Bureau Report