Shooters Deepak Kumar and Lakshay Sheoran win silver medals

Deepak shot 247.7 to finish second on the podium behind China’s Haoran Yang in men's 10m air rifle event, while Lakshay claimed the silver medal in the men’s trap event.

Deepak Kumar after winning the silver in the 10m air rifle final at the Asian Games on Monday.

Indian shooter Deepak Kumar claimed the silver medal in men’s 10m air rifle event after producing excellent scores at crucial junctures, pipping fancied team-mate Ravi Kumar at the 18th Asian Games here on Monday.

Deepak shot 247.7 to finish second on the podium behind China's Haoran Yang, who won the top prize with a Games record 249.1 at the JSC Shooting Range.

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Chinese Taipei’s Shaochuan Lu (226.8) bagged the bronze after being beaten by a near-perfect score of 10.9 by Deepak in the third-place shoot-off.

Deepak then shot a 10.8 to get the better of Ravi (205.2), who combined with Apurvi Chandela to win bronze in the air rifle mixed event on Sunday.

Deepak and Ravi had finished fourth and fifth in the 60-shot classification held earlier on Monday. The top eight qualify for the finals.

Deepak said he just thought about what his coach Manoj Kumar would say.

“I was trailing in the qualification round also. I just thought about his (Manoj) words. He often says ‘you have the potential and you know your limits’. Starting was not good, the middle was worse. So I just tried to stay calm,” the 30-year-old said.

Asked how he felt after beating his friend and Air Force roommate Ravi, Deepak said: “We don’t think on those lines when we are shooting. We are close friends and spend a lot of time together. But it is an individual sport.”

Deepak broke into the Indian team last year, having picked up shooting back in 2004. However, he sees this medal as the beginning.

“Everyone keeps thinking about what they will get. I believe in spreading whatever I have learnt from my days in Gurukul. You eventually get your due. There is no point feeling sad about anything. Life is short,” said the shooter.

19-year-old Lakshay Sheoran shot 39 out of 45 to finish second to Taipei's Kumpi Yang.

 

Young Indian shooter Lakshay claimed the silver medal in the men’s trap event of the Asian Games here today.

The 19-year-old Lakshay shot 39 out of 45 to finish second on the podium.

Taipei’s Kunpi Yang won the gold medal while equalling the Games record with 48, while Korea’s Daemyeong Ahn bagged bronze after scoring 30 at the JSC Shooting Range.

Manavjit Singh Sandhu, who topped the qualification, finished fourth in the final with 26 after 30 shots, having stayed on course for a while.

This is the Indian contingent’s fourth medal and third medal in shooting at the ongoing Games.