Indian men's 10m air rifle trio strikes team silver

Nagoya | If confidence, process and camaraderie have become the defining traits of India's new generation of shooters, Rudrankksh Patil, Himanshu Dhillon and Parth Mane offered another compelling demonstration of it by clinching the men's 10m air rifle team silver at the Asian Games here on Monday.

The young trio combined with poise and consistency to give India its second team medal in as many days, taking the country's shooting tally to three silvers.

With the men's individual 10m air rifle final still to come later in the day, the medal count could swell further. Former world champion Rudrankksh, 22, once again underlined why he is regarded as one of India's finest 10m rifle exponents since Abhinav Bindra. Alongside 20-year-old Himanshu and teenager Mane, he helped India post an aggregate of 1890.1 points, finishing behind a formidable Chinese side that produced a second world record in as many days.

China amassed 1899.0 points to improve on its own world record of 1898.4, set in Cairo last year.

South Korea mounted a strong challenge but had to settle for bronze with 1884.2 points.

Yet, amid the numbers and the record-breaking performance from China, it was the composure of the Indian trio -- particularly debutant Mane -- that stood out.

Only 18 and competing at his maiden Asian Games, Mane looked remarkably unfazed in what was a pressure-filled environment.

The junior World medallist stayed within himself, trusted his routine and produced the kind of performance that helped India remain firmly in the medal hunt.

Rudrankksh finished third in the individual qualification standings with 631.8 points, while Himanshu was seventh with 630.0. Mane, with 628.3, narrowly missed the eight-shooter individual final, but his contribution proved crucial as the aggregate scores from the qualification round determine the team medals.

For Mane, the medal was also a reward for a journey that began almost by accident.

Born and raised in Solapur, the class 12 student was introduced to shooting at the age of 13 when his police officer father encouraged him to attend a summer coaching camp at school.

What began as a casual introduction gradually became a serious pursuit, eventually prompting the family to move to Mumbai so that Mane could access better facilities and train with Olympian and coach Suma Shirur.

On Monday, that decision bore fruit on the Asian Games stage.

There was, however, no immediate celebration from the bespectacled teenager. His maiden senior international medal will have to wait for another day.

"The celebrations will have to wait," Mane said with striking calmness after the competition.

He has another assignment almost immediately -- teaming up with Elavenil Valarivan in the mixed team event.

"The competition today was a huge learning experience in terms of pressure.

I kept following my process and am happy that I was able to contribute to the team medal," said Mane, who will turn 19 in November and has his sights firmly set on Olympic glory at Los Angeles 2028.

The teenager's temperament, perhaps more than his score, summed up the character of this young Indian shooting unit -- ambitious but not overawed, competitive but deeply invested in the team.

A day earlier, Elavenil, Sonam Maskar and Vidarsa Vinod had combined to win silver in the women's 10m air rifle team event, before Elavenil added another silver in the individual competition.