New Delhi: Sift Kaur Samra and Ashi Chouksey secured the top and third spots in the women’s 50m rifle 3-position individual event at the 2023 Asian Games held in Hangzhou, China on Wednesday.
China’s Zhang Qiongyue secured the silver medal, edging out Chouksey when the Indian shooter scored 8.9 in her final shot, allowing the Chinese competitor to move ahead in the rankings.
Samra secured the gold medal with an impressive world record score of 469.6, surpassing Zhang’s score of 462.3. Chouksey claimed the third position with a score of 451.9.
Earlier in the day, Kaur and Chouksey, along with Manini Kaushik, collectively earned a silver medal in the women’s 50m rifle 3 Positions team event.
India achieved a combined score of 1764, coming in nine points behind China, who secured the gold medal. The Republic of Korea claimed the bronze with a total score of 1756.
Samra achieved an outstanding feat by setting a new National Record with a score of 594, which earned her second place and a spot in the individual final. China’s Xia Siyu, who also had a score of 594, took the top spot in the qualification round due to a higher number of inner 10s.
Chouksey also secured a spot in the individual final, ranking sixth with a combined score of 590. Kaushik, on the other hand, finished in 18th place with a score of 580.
India now has a total of 18 medals in the ongoing Asian Games.