Ashi Chouksey's costly break denies India a gold-silver combo

Hangzhou: For the longest time during the women's individual 50m rifle 3-position final at the Asian Games on Wednesday, it looked like Indian shooters would clinch both the gold and the silver medals in an unprecedented clean sweep of an event. Sift Kaur Samra did hold on to her gold medal spot, but there was some heartbreak in store for Ashi Chouksey, who hit her worst shot of the day to fall to 3rd position behind the Chinese shooter at the very end.

"Everyone is asking me about the last shot. I was very nervous, I just missed my timing, there was a lot of pressure on me, I don't know what I was thinking, I just took a break, and after that when I picked up my rifle, there were only 3-4 seconds left. My rifle was already on target so without looking at the target I just pulled the trigger. If I had 5 seconds more, I would have surely shot a 10," Ashi said moments after the event.

"Every shooter has their own temperament, I shoot a little slow," added the 21-year-old from Bhopal when asked if she put herself under undue pressure by taking more time with her shots.

Ashi and Sift, who created a new world record, have given India a first double podium at the 2023 Asian Games. Indian shooters have now won 10 medals in Hangzhou, more than half of the overall medals won so far.

Ashi had made a sensational climb up the positions in the prone section, the second of the three positions, to be ranked only behind Sift with one final shot remaining in standing. The Chinese shooter Zhang Qiongyue was a good 1.1 points behind her on the overall scores. But then came a last-minute shocker as Ashi managed to shoot just a 8.9 with her final shot - her poorest shot of the day.

"I had a really good lead before that, so I was expecting the (silver) medal. This will be a learning. But I'm not at all disappointed. The Asian Games is a great platform for a medal of any colour," Ashi said.

"Last night, Sift and I were sure of the team medal, but we were determined to win the individual gold and silver between us. She scolded me just now, saying how can I shoot a 8.9!" she added.

Sift, the gold medal winner who did not put a foot wrong in the final, said, "I am still very happy for Ashi to be a medallist. She felt very good while shooting in the final. She was focused on her technique... it was just one of those days."

Ashi returns from Hangzhou with 3 medals

Despite her last-minute disappointment, Ashi will head back to India from the Asian Games with as many as three medals to her name - team silver medals in 10m rifle and 50m rifle and an individual bronze in 50m rifle.

Had Ashi not fallen behind with her last shot, the biggest story of the 50m rifle final would have been how she managed to stage a comeback in the prone after having a disappointing start in kneeling.

"My heartbeat is very fast usually in the beginning of my events, so my kneeling didn't go as well as expected. I am proud of the way I came back in prone. My favourite is kneeling, but I have to say my strongest suit is prone," Ashi said.