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Satisfaction for Chain Singh after winning quota

Chain Singh went into the final World Cup of the season under pressure, knowing this was his penultimate chance to win an Olympic berth.

Chain Singh

Growing up in militancy-affected Doda district of Kashmir, the sound of a gun was all too familiar for Chain Singh. It would terrify him during his growing up days. But for someone who spends most of his time at the shooting ranges, the sound is now music to his ears.

More so on Friday, when the son of a small-time farmer became the seventh Indian shooter to clinch an Olympic berth after finishing eighth in the 50m rifle 3-position event at the World Cup in Gabala, Azerbaijan. It was Chain’s maiden final appearance at a World Cup and although he was the first amongst the eight shooters to exit, he managed to achieve his long-pending target.

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Abhinav Bindra, Gagan Narang, Jitu Rai, Gurpreet Singh, Prakash Nanjappa and Apurvi Chandela are the other shooters who have won quota places for next year’s Rio Olympics. The qualification process for the Olympics is such that it does not reward consistency. Chain will vouch for it. Despite coming close at each of the three previous World Cups, the 26-year-old armyman could not sneak into the finals, owing to the strength of the overall field. He missed the final by just one point at the Changwon (1,173 points) and Munich (1,174) legs, and finished 10th at Fort Benning (1,172).

He went into the final World Cup of the season in Gabala under pressure, knowing this was his penultimate chance to win an Olympic berth. And he did not disappoint. Even though he was way behind the podium finishers, Chain achieved his primary objective of winning one of the two quotas up for grabs. He was assured of it merely by making the medal round as six of the eight finalists had already earned their places. Russia’s Fedor Vlasov, who finished fifth, won the other quota available.

Chain shot a total of 1,174 out of 1,200 (kneeling: 395, prone: 396, standing: 383) in the elimination round to qualify for the final in seventh place. Once assured of a quota, he took his foot of the peddle and shot a disappointing 403.7 in the final to bow out in eighth place.

“It is my dream to win a medal for India at the Olympics. Today I am very happy because winning an Olympic quota place is the first step in that direction. There is still a lot of work ahead for me,” Chain, an army Subedar, said. Though it took a long time coming, many believe it was only a matter of time that he would earn an Olympic quota. Chain has steadily risen in profile over the past 12 months, beginning with the bronze medal at the Asian Games last year.

There was disappointment in store in other events, however, for India. After a promising start, Shagun Chowdhary lost her way in the final series to miss out on a final berth in women’s trap event while on the men’s side, Manavjit Singh Sandhu too had a disappointing outing.