Abhishek Verma did the country proud as he secured India’s fifth Olympic quota place in shooting competition by winning the 10m air pistol gold medal at the World Cup.
In his maiden final, he led his nerves throughout the men’s 10m air pistol final and came through with flying colours as he clinched the top spot.
It was only his first ever ISSF World Cup final and Verma displayed sheer class, making the feat more creditable.
Indians successfully bagged five quota places for the Tokyo Olympics by far with young Saurabh Chaudhary winning one in 10m air pistol event at the ISSF World Cup in New Delhi previously this year. With this feat, India won both their quotas in this event.
By a twist of fate, Verma made his World Cup debut in the national capital but failed to qualify for the final at the den.
In the Chinese capital on Saturday, Verma set high standards for himself in the competition as he himself shot 585 points overall to qualify for the final at the fourth spot.
He was the only Indian who advanced to the final with Shahzar Rizvi and Arjun Singh Cheema finishing 32nd and 54th respectively.
Verma, who clinched a bronze medal in the 10m air pistol event during his country debut at the Asian Games, does not have much international experience and thereby his achievement is worth applauding.