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  Rio 2016: Abhinav Bindra misses out by a mere whisker

Rio 2016: Abhinav Bindra misses out by a mere whisker

PTI
Published : Aug 9, 2016, 1:48 am IST
Updated : Aug 9, 2016, 1:48 am IST

Beijing champ ends 4th in 10m air rifle final

Beijing champ ends 4th in 10m air rifle final

Star shooter Abhinav Bindra’s quest for a second Olympics medal ended in heartbreak as he missed a medal by a whisker in a tense shoot-off in the men’s 10m air rifle event on the third day of competitions at the Rio Games here on Monday.

Bindra, the country’s lone individual Olympic gold medallist, lost the shoot-off against Ukrainian Serhiy Kulish after both were tied for third place at 163.8 points after 16 shots.

Italian Niccolo Campriani, silver medallist in London 2012, went one better when claiming gold in the men's 10m air rifle at the Rio Olympics.

Campriani, who got the better of Ukraine’s Serhiy Kulish, nailed the title by 1.5 points with a 10.7 score, only a pencil dot off a perfect hit.

Bindra, who was shooting in his fifth and final Olympics, was deprived of a fairytale ending to his glorious career as he was the fifth shooter to be eliminated in the race for the podium. He could at least have bagged a bronze had he won the shoot-off.

The 33-year-old Indian, who won a gold in 2008 Beijing Olympics in the same event, was at the second spot at one time but lost places later on. He was fourth at first elimination round but jumped to second after the second elimination round.

Two mediocre shots took him to fourth spot after the fourth elimination round but he bounced back in the next round with scores of 10.6 and 10.2.

Location: Brazil, Rio de Janeiro