Paralympic shooting: Babu misses spot in final by 0.2 points

Babu finished ninth in the qualifying stage with a score of 617.2 while China's Dong Chao took the eighth and last qualifying spot with a score of 617.4 points. Babu, a kickboxing instructor and a black belt in the sport who suffers from paraplegia as the result of a motorcycle accident in 2002, had scores of 103.3, 101.3, 102.8, 103.5, and 103.3 in the six series as he finished ninth.

Sidhartha Babu missed out on a spot in the final of the R6 - Mixed 50m Air Rifle Prone SH1 by 0.2 points as India ended its campaign in the shooting competitions at the Tokyo 2020 Paralympic Games with five medals on Sunday.

Babu finished ninth in the qualifying stage with a score of 617.2 while China's Dong Chao took the eighth and last qualifying spot with a score of 617.4 points.

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Babu, a kickboxing instructor and a black belt in the sport who suffers from paraplegia as the result of a motorcycle accident in 2002, had scores of 103.3, 101.3, 102.8, 103.5, and 103.3 in the six series as he finished ninth.

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The 42-year-old Babu, who was forced to relocate and set up a new shooting range to train during the Covid-19 pandemic in 2020, was the best Indian performer at the Asaka Shooting Range on Sunday but fell short by a whisker.

Among the other Indians, Avani Lekhara ended 28th with a score of 612, while Deepak Kumar was placed 46th among participants with a score of 602.2 points.

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With this, India finished its campaign in Paralympic Games shooting with five medals -- two gold, one silver, and two bronze medals. Avani Lekhara and Manish Narwal won the two gold medals while Singhraj Adhana bagged silver and bronze. Avani claimed the other bronze medal.

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This is the first time that India has won medals in shooting at the Paralympic Games.

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