Internet Desk : Two-time Olympian Sanjeev Rajput battled the odds to secure India’s 12 quota from shooting for the upcoming Rio Games by finishing fourth in men’s 50m rifle 3 positions at the Asian Olympic Qualifying Competition here today.
Owing to the 35-year-old marksman s effort, India could be sending 12 shooters, their highest-ever, to the quadrennial extravaganza in the Brazilian city of Rio de Janeiro come August. At the London Olympics four years ago, India had 11 representatives in shooting.
Overcoming a broken barrel barely three days ago and a struggling 2015, Sanjeev shot 429.5 after an impressive comeback in pone in the eight-man finals at the Dr. Karni Singh Shooting Range to earn the country another Games berth.
Sanjeev qualified for the finals in fourth position shooting a score of 1163. There were three quota places available in the finals and the other two went to Kazakhstan s Vitaliy Dovgun and Thailand s 20-year old Napis Tortungpanich.
India, however, missed out on a quota in men’s skeet as Angad Vir Singh Bajwa narrowly failed to make the cut after finishing eighth with a score of 118 in the qualification rounds. Six top shooters play in the finals of skeet.
With Inputs from PTI