Chateauroux [France], July 29 : After finishing fourth in the men's 10m rifle final at the Paris Olympics on Monday, Indian shooter Arjun Babuta said it was not his day.
Babuta got off to a flying start by shooting 10.7 to kick off his final campaign. He fell to fourth after registering 10.2 in his second shot. His combined total was 20.9 out of 22 possible points.
Speaking to the media, Babuta said the experience will make him stronger. He also revealed that he spoke to Beijing Olympics gold medalist Abhinav Bindra before the match.
"Today was not my day. I have to accept it and move on. It will definitely make me stronger... I also spoke to Abhinav Bindra yesterday and before the match today. He supported me...," Babuta said.
China's 19-year-old Sheng Lihao, who stayed at the top for most part of the contest, clinched the gold with 252.2 points. Sweden's Victor Lindgren secured the second spot with 251.4 points, and a visibly emotional Croatia shooter, Miran Maricic, settled for the third spot with 230.0 points.
Babuta went on to firmly maintain the fourth spot after hitting 10.5 in his third shot. Babuta leapfrogged Sweden's Victor Lingreden by hitting 10.4 in his fourth shot.
In the second series, Babuta started to reap rewards for his consistency and moved to the second spot after firing two shots. He continued to fire above 10.5 and put up a score of 84 after eight shots. At the end of the second series, Babuta slipped to the third spot with a score of 105/110. Sheng, continued to lead the pack with his near-flawless accuracy.
The end of the second series marked the beginning of the elimination round. Babuta started the second stage with a 10.6 and moved to the second spot. The Indian shooter raised hopes of gold after he managed to trail by 0.1 points behind Sheng. With a shot of 9.9, Babuta's streak of hitting the ten-point mark ended. He fell one full point behind Sheng.
Sweden's Victor Lindgren got rewarded for his consistency, and he eventually managed to sneak past Babuta for the silver medal spot. Babuta retaliated and made ground with a 10.7 shot which allowed him to retake the second spot. The pressure got to Babuta, and he settled for the fourth spot after shooting a 9.5.
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