India’s Abhishek Verma won his first Intentional Shooting Sport World Cup gold and India’s second Tokyo Olympic quota place in men’s 10m air pistol with a solid showing in Beijing on Saturday.
The Indian lead the field throughout the final to clinch the top spot with a total score of 242.7 at the year’s second ISSF World Cup.
The 29-year-old, who is playing in only his second ISSF World Cup, was a picture of composure as he maintained his stronghold at the top. Russia’s Artem Chernousov and Korea’s Seungwoo Han won the silver and bronze medals.
This is India’s fifth Tokyo 2020 quota in shooting and the second in 10m air pistol after Saurabh Chaudhary clinched the first at the Delhi World Cup. With this India has clinched both their quotas in this event.
Earlier in qualification, the Verma scored a steady 585 (19x) to finish fourth on the charts. He was the only Indian who progressed to the final with Shahzar Rizvi and Arjun Singh Cheema finishing 32nd and 54th respectively.
Verma made his India debut at the Asian Games last year, where he won the bronze medal. The 29-year-old hobby shooter had made it to the Indian team just three years after taking up the sport.
