Arjuna Babuta clinches 10m air rifle silver in a thriller, misses gold by 0.1 at ISSF World Cup

LIMA: Paris Olympian Arjuna Babuta clinched the silver medal, narrowly missing out on gold, in the men's 10m air rifle event at the ISSF World Cup here.

In a nail-biting final, Babuta (252.3), who had finished fourth at the Paris Games last year, lost by just 0.1 points to reigning Olympic champion Sheng Lihao of China (252.4).

Seasoned Hungary shooter Istvan Peni, with over 40 ISSF medals to his name, bagged the bronze in what was a world-class field with a total of 229.8.

The final featured a star-studded lineup, including reigning world champion and Paris silver medallist Victor Lindgren of Sweden, Jon-Hermann Hegg of Norway and India's former world champion Rudrankksh Patil.

India had a chance for a double podium finish, but Rudrankksh was unfortunately docked his 11th shot by the jury due to a technical infraction. As a result, Indian finished eighth, bowing out at the first elimination stage.

In the final, both Babuta and Patil started strong with identical 10.1s and stayed close to the lead pack early on. Babuta raised his game after the 10th shot, climbing to third and breathing down the necks of Hegg and Peni as Rudrankksh took the challenge to Sheng.

Patil had won gold at the World Cup in Buenos Aires last week.

After Patil's shock exit, Babuta stayed composed and took the lead for the first time after the 14th shot.

With Hegg slipping, Sheng surged back with a string of high 10s, including a near-perfect 10.9 on his 16th shot to close the gap.

With two of the 24 shots left, Babuta held a slim 0.3-point advantage. But Sheng, showcasing his champion's poise, fired another 10.9 to flip the margin.

A closing 10.5 from Babuta wasn’t enough to reclaim the lead, as Sheng sealed it with a 10.3.

Earlier in qualification, Babuta shot a solid 631.9 in the first relay, while Sheng topped it effortlessly with 635.0.

Patil posted 632.0 in the second relay to lead the group and place third overall.

India's Hriday Hazarika narrowly missed out on the final, finishing 10th with a score of 629.3.