Arjun Babuta Narrowly Misses Medal in Olympic Air Rifle Debut

Indian shooter Arjun Babuta finished fourth in the men's 10m air rifle competition at his maiden Olympics. Despite a strong start and close contest, Babuta's 9.5 shot ruined his medal hopes. The top honors went to China's Sheng Lihao, followed by Sweden's Victor Lindgren and Croatia's Miran Maricic.

Indian shooter Arjun Babuta narrowly missed out on a medal in the men's 10m air rifle competition in his Olympic debut, finishing fourth after a tense finale. Babuta shot a commendable 208.4 but faltered when a 9.5 in response to Croatia's Miran Maricic's 10.7 dashed his podium hopes.

The 25-year-old started strong with scores of 10.7, 10.2, and 10.5, taking the fourth spot and later moved to third with a 10.4, finishing the first series with a solid 10.6. He continued his impressive form with a near-perfect 10.8 in the second series, closing the gap with world record holder Sheng Lihao.

However, Babuta couldn't maintain his momentum, eventually missing out on a coveted medal as Lihao claimed gold with an Olympic record of 252.2, Sweden's Victor Lindgren won silver with 251.4, and Maricic took bronze with 230.

(With inputs from agencies.)