New Delhi

World champion Samrat Rana had to settle for a bronze medal in the men’s 10m air pistol event at the Asian Shooting Championship after failing to reproduce his strong qualification-round form in the final on the opening day of competition here on Wednesday.

Rana, the standout performer at last year’s World Championships in Cairo, where the Karnal shooter displayed remarkable composure to clinch gold, had raised expectations of another top-podium finish in the season opener.

The 21-year-old looked well on course after shooting an impressive 581 in the qualification round, finishing second and entering the eight-shooter final with confidence. However, he could not maintain the same rhythm in the medal round, managing a total of 221.5 to finish third.

China’s world No. 1 Hu Kai claimed the gold with a commanding score of 243.0, while Kazakhstan’s Valeriy Rakhimzhan took silver with 241.0. India’s other finalist, Sharvan Kumar, narrowly missed the podium, finishing fourth.

India, however, secured the silver medal in the team event. Rana (581), Sharvan (578) and World Championships bronze medallist Varun Tomar (573) combined for a total score of 1,732. Uzbekistan clinched the team gold with an identical aggregate but edged past India on the basis of a higher ‘inner 10’ count—58 compared to India’s 52. Kazakhstan finished close behind in third place with 1,731 points.

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India has fielded the largest contingent at the championship, entering 118 shooters, while Kazakhstan has the second-largest squad with 35 athletes. Traditional powerhouses South Korea and Japan have also sent strong teams, while shooters from Chinese Taipei, Vietnam and Hong Kong are expected to mount stiff challenges as the competition progresses.