The 23-year-old Commonwealth Games silver medallist finished on the podium at the Karni Singh Shooting Range here after shooting 205.9 in the eight-woman final, same as gold medallist Najmeh Khedmati of Iran, but lost out on the top prize as she managed 9.9 to the Iranian's 10.1 in the shoot-off.
India's Ayonika Paul brought double delight for the nation on Friday. Not only did she bag the silver in women's 10m air rifle but also helped India secured their 11th Olympic quota from the Asia Olympic Qualifying Competition
The 23-year-old Commonwealth Games silver medallist finished on the podium at the Karni Singh Shooting Range here after shooting 205.9 in the eight-woman final, same as gold medallist Najmeh Khedmati of Iran, but lost out on the top prize as she managed 9.9 to the Iranian's 10.1 in the shoot-off.
Compatriot Pooja Ghatkar narrowly missed out on a berth at the quadrennial extravaganza in a high-scoring final.
Paul displayed excellent precision and technique, consistently shooting in the 10-point region in the 20-shot final to earn the only available quota place for India in the 10m air rifle event. India were eligible for only one (each country can win a maximum of two quotas per event) as Apurvi Chandela had already secured one quota from the ISSF World Cup in Changwon, Korea last April.
World No. 10 Khedmati was not eligible for the quota as she and other Iranian shooter Elaheh Ahmadi had already clinched a quota for their country from an earlier qualification event last year.
This left Paul and Ghatkar fighting for that elusive quota in the final headlined by Incheon Asian Games gold medallist Mongolia's Narantuya Chuluunbadrakh and Singapore's Martina Lindsay Veloso, the youngest-ever World Cup gold winner at 14.
After both Paul and Ghatkar qualified as third and sixth, respectively, from the 57-strong field with over 400 points each, the kind of form and accuracy they displayed in the final was simply superb.
After 16 shots, only Ghatkar, Paul and Khedmati remained in contention as the two Indians looked to outshine each other for the prized quota. In the bronze medal deciding shot, a minor lapse of concentration on the part of Ghatkar, who was leading the competition thus far and was all set for a gold finish, put paid to all her hopes as a disastrous 8.8 saw her slip to third position in the ranking and eliminated her from the reckoning.
Her ouster meant that Paul was assured of a quota and the only thing to decide was the gold-silver finish between her and Khedmati. After the end of 20-shot final, both the shooters were tied at 205.9 points each. A shoot-off ensued between the two, in which Khedmati pipped Paul for gold with a strong 10.1 hit, while Paul could shot 9.9.
The other quota was grabbed by Korea's Eunseo Lee, who finished fourth.
Although, Paul has got the quota, the country's representation in the event will be decided through a selection trial in Patiala next month as the quota is not for an individual. The fight would be between her and Ghatkar as Chandela is far ahead of them in the current national ranking and is assured of travelling to Rio.
"The last two shots are still ringing in my mind. I was here to win gold but the Iranian finished strongly. I will start training again from tomorrow itself to ensure I improve on my first and last shots. I am happy at having won the quota but disappointed at losing out on the gold," Paul said.
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