Trap shooter Lakshay clinches silver medal

India’s Lakshay Sheoran clinched the silver medal in the men’s trap shooting event at the 2018 Asian Games on Monday, finishing behind Chinese Taipei’s Kunpi Yang, who matched the world record score to take gold.

The 20-year-old Lakshay, who had entered the final after finishing fourth in qualification, scored 43 points to secure the silver medal. South Korea’s Ah Daemyeong took bronze with 30 points, while India’s experienced shooter Manavjit Singh Sandhu finished fifth after topping the two-stage qualification round.

Yang, also 20, produced a remarkable performance in the final and finished with 48 points, equalling the world record. He missed only two targets throughout the competition and remained composed when the pressure was at its highest.

Lakshay’s final began poorly when he missed his opening target. However, the young Indian quickly recovered, hitting 17 consecutive targets to bring himself back into contention.

His challenge for gold suffered another setback when he missed targets during the 19th, 21st and 22nd attempts. He regained his rhythm soon afterwards, successfully hitting nine targets in a row, but two further misses on his 32nd and 33rd attempts proved costly.

Yang, who had entered the six-man final in sixth position, delivered an outstanding turnaround. He missed only his 13th and 23rd targets and steadily pulled away from the field.

South Korea’s Ah Daemyeong was eliminated after 40 shots with 30 points, leaving Lakshay and Yang to contest the final 10-target round. Yang held a four-point advantage over the Indian at that stage and maintained his lead to claim the title.

Eum Jiwon of South Korea finished fifth, while Hagen Alexander Topacio of the Philippines was sixth in the six-man final.

Lakshay’s silver was India’s fourth medal at the Jakarta Asian Games. The country’s first four medals came from shooting and wrestling, underlining the importance of both disciplines to India’s medal hopes.

For Lakshay, the medal was particularly significant as it came at just 20 years of age and marked his arrival on the major international stage. His ability to recover from an early mistake and challenge for the gold demonstrated the potential of India’s emerging shooting talent.