Asian Games 2010 Medal Tally: Vijay wins bronze

Armyman Vijay Kumar shot 583 out of 600 to win bronze in the centre-fire pistol event as Indian shooters continued to flounder at the Aoti sports complex on Thursday.For Gagan Narang, who was hoping to win his second individual award, it was a day of disappointment as he finished fourth in the men’s 50m rifle three position event. His aggregate score of 1261.8 was 0.5 less than bronze medal winner Qinan Zhu of China.As the rifle and pistol events came to an end, the talking point again was how the Indian shooters had come a cropper, unable to win a single gold medal.

This was a sport from which the Indians were supposed to reap a rich harvest, but barring the efforts put in by Vijay Kumar and Gagan, the rest have unsuccessful to live up to expectations.India has a rich history in the Asian Games when a certain Jaspal Rana won medals with ease for the country from 1994 to 2006. Having won three gold medals and a silver in Doha, Jaspal was even in the running for the most valuable player award.But times have changed. As the National Rifle Association of India managed to ensure Jaspal gave up shooting totally, the next generation of pistol shooters has not been able to repeat his feats.

On Thursday, Harpreet Singh shot a blank as a result of which India were unable to win a team medal.Vijay’s score of 583 was three points behind gold medal winner Byung Take Park of Korea. In contrast, during the Doha Asiad, Jaspal had shot a world record equalling 590 out of 600.“I am happy with my effort in Guangzhou as I won two medals. It has been a hard year for me and in the coming years, I can work harder and do better,” said Vijay.Back to Gagan, the rifleman was unlucky in what is virtually a season-ending event for him. Gagan shot 393 out of 400 in prone, 382 out of 400 in standing and a low 387 out of 400 in kneeling.

At one point in the final, Gagan had moved to the third position but was done in by a score of 8.3 points in the eighth shot. And that virtually sealed his fate as the leaders pulled away from Gagan. Before that, Gagan had shot only 9.5 points in the third effort in the final.It has been a long year for Gagan. Having done well in the World Championship and the Common wealth Games, expecting him to peak in Guangzhou was not easy.