How a faulty button robbed Aishwary Pratap Singh of an Asian Games shooting medal
Aishwary Pratap Singh was in the hunt for an individual Asian Games medal when a technical glitch at his firing station suddenly turned the tide against him. The Indian shooter had negotiated the kneeling stage of the 50m rifle 3-position final well and was placed around fourth or fifth, within striking distance of the podium.
The trouble surfaced when he moved into prone and began his sighter shots. His match button failed to work properly, forcing him to turn away from the firing line and seek the referee's intervention. The interruption broke the rhythm of a shooter who had until then been firmly in contention.
"My shooting in kneeling position was good and score-wise also my ranking was good. I think I was in fourth or fifth position. But when the prone started and I began taking my sighter shots, my match button had a malfunction and I was having trouble pressing it, so I had to turn back and inform the match referee that it's not working properly," Aishwary said.
The match button is an electronic control at the firing point that helps a shooter communicate with the range system when moving from sighter shots to official attempts. Sighters are trial shots used to assess conditions before the scored series begins.
For Aishwary, the problem went beyond the equipment itself. In a short final, the sudden break in concentration came at a time when maintaining a settled mind was crucial.
"The final match is of 22 minutes and you have to take so many shots, then there is the pressure and so many thoughts. Amid all this, if your mind gets disturbed or wavers then......," he said.THE POINTS THAT SLIPPED AWAY
The effect of the interruption was most evident in Aishwary's prone series. He shot 102.9, a score he felt was considerably below his potential had the disruption not occurred.
"I had to turn back to inform the referee and that affected my prone scores. They (scores) took a massive hit because I shot a series of 102.9. Had I not got stuck in this issue, I would easily have had a series of 104.0 or more," he said.
The lost points pushed the 25-year-old down the standings and left him with little margin for error. Although he managed to produce a better showing in standing, an 8.9 further dented his hopes. Aishwary was eventually eliminated on the 32nd shot of the 35-shot final and finished fifth, while Chinese Olympic gold medallists took the top two spots.
He was left with a team silver as consolation, but the individual result was particularly disappointing given his record at the previous Asian Games in Hangzhou.FROM FOUR MEDALS TO SINGLE SILVER
Aishwary had returned from Hangzhou with four medals — gold in the 50m rifle 3-position team event, gold in the 10m air rifle team event, individual silver in the 50m rifle 3-position event and individual bronze in the 10m air rifle competition.
This time, his medal came only in the team event.
"Yes, a slight disappointment. Last time I won four medals and this time I am going home with just one team medal. So that is a bit of a disappointment," he said.
There is little time for the Indian shooter to dwell on Friday's disappointment. His focus now shifts to the World Championships and then the pursuit of an Olympic quota for India.
For Aishwary, securing that quota is about more than personal qualification. It is an opportunity to contribute to India's Olympic campaign in a sport where the world's leading shooters will be competing for limited berths.
The faulty button may have cost him a chance at another Asian Games individual medal, but Aishwary's season still has a significant target ahead. His response now will be measured not by the interruption that derailed one final, but by how quickly he can move forward from it.- Ends
