Hangzhou, China, September 27, 2023: Sift Kaur Samra set a new world record as she won India’s first individual gold medal at the Hangzhou Asian Games by claiming the 50m Rifle 3 Positions Women’s title on Wednesday.
Samra led a charge of the Indian shooting contingent, who won two gold medals – the other coming in the 25m Pistol Women Rapid Team – three silvers and a bronze medal at the Fuyang Yinhu Sports Centre.
“It is amazing, simply great,” said Samra as she dwelled on what she had achieved. Indeed, the 22-year-old from Faridkot overwhelmed China’s world champion Zhang Qiongyue, who had to settle for the silver medal.
“I was not thinking of coming up against the world champion. I just focused on my own processes,” Samra revealed. “This gold medal means a lot especially as the Asian Games is a huge event, and winning gold for my country makes me feel proud.”
Samra, a physical education student, smashed the world record by more than two points, a massive effort in a sport where the margins between winning and losing can come down to a decimal point.
Watched by OCA Acting President Raja Randhir Singh, himself a former Asian Games shooting champion, Samra shot 469.6 to break the previous record set by British shooter Seonaid McIntosh of 467.0 points. She was in contention from the outset in an event where competitors have to shoot kneeling, prone and then standing.
China’s Zhang had to be content winning silver with a tally of 462.3 while Indian Ashi Chouksey, who had been in contention for second place right until the final elimination shot, took home the bronze.
Already having won a 2024 Paris Olympic quota in Baku, Azerbaijan at the World Championships in May, Samra is riding the crest of a wave.
“I’m very proud and positively surprised at how my shooters have performed in the last year, because one year ago both of them were not that good. Their development is incredible and it is all down to dedication, normal training and working hard daily,” said India’s shooting coach Thomas Farnik.
The Austrian, who has been with the squad for just over a year, believed the ability to stay cool under pressure has been a key aspect of the success.
Elsewhere, Esha Singh, Manu Bhaker and Rhythm Sangwan won the gold medal in the women’s 25m Pistol Team event - Esha won silver in the individual event too - while Samra, Chouksey and Manini Kaushik won the silver in the women's team 50m Rifle 3 Positions.
The third silver went to Anant Jeet Singh in the Skeet men's final. Earlier in the day, the Indian men’s skeet team won the bronze in the Skeet-50.
Samra’s world record was the second set by India at these Games, matching two more new world marks set by China. India had claimed the men’s 10m Air Rifle team title with a world record of 1,893.7 points on Tuesday.
China’s two world records came in the men’s individual 10m Air Rifle where 18-year-old Sheng Lihao showcased remarkable stability and speed earning the gold with a world record 253.4 points firing 60 shots in just half the allotted time. Then in the men’s 25m Rapid Fired Pistol Team event China set a new world record of 1,765 points.
On Wednesday, China’s dominance at the range continued with four more gold medals in the Skeet-50 men’s team event, 50m Rifle Three Positions women’s team events. Then in the individual events, Jiang Yiting won gold in the Skeet Women and Liu Rui won the women’s 25m Pistol with both establishing Games records.
Kuwait's Abdullah Al Rashidi, 60, won the men's skeet - his fourth Asian Games gold medal and Kuwait's first gold medal here in Hangzhou.
"I am happy to win a fourth gold medal because I am over 60 years old," he said.
"Today I only missed one target from 110 targets. This happens when you play every day, you exercise, go swimming, and eat well."
Al Rashidi added: "You keep your body strong. I don’t look at the telephone or twitter, because this is not good for your eyes. I look after my body and my health, and I go to sleep early and wake up early. I make a good but difficult training programme to look to the future."
