Latest news with #Babuta
Hindustan Times
a day ago
- Sport
- Hindustan Times
Arya-Arjun pair strikes gold, India end Munich World Cup on a high
New Delhi: A remarkably nerveless performance from Arya Borse and Arjun Babuta meant India got the better of China in the gold medal match of the 10m air rifle mixed team event on the final day of the shooting World Cup in Munich. Borse-Babuta got the better of China's Wang Zifei and Sheng Lihao 17-7 after the latter had topped the qualification in a 58-team field. Sheng, a double gold medallist at last year's Paris Olympics and current world No.1, shot 317.7 while 18-year-old Wang, a 2024 world champion, hit 318.2, which remained the highest individual tally in the final. Babuta, who agonisingly finished fourth in Paris, also logged 317.7, while Borse, fresh from twin mixed team silver medals at Buenos Aires and Lima where she partnered Rudrankksh Patil, shot 317.5. The Indians' combined tally of 635.2 was 0.7 points shy of the Chinese total, which was a qualification world record. In the final, Borse began with a 9.8 to hand the Chinese pair an early lead but the Indians found rhythm soon after. For the next seven series of single shots, they had only one shot below 10.5 (and that too was a creditable 10.2) to gallop to a decisive 13-3 advantage. The Chinese pair won the next two series in the race to 16, but Borse and Babuta responded with high 10s to get to the match point. In the final and 12th series, while Babuta cancelled out Sheng with an identical 10.1, Borse outshot Wang to give India a fine win. The bronze medal went to Norway's Jeanette Hegg Duestad and Jon-Hermann Hegg, who edged out USA's Sagen Maddalena and Peter Matthew Fiori 16-14. The second Indian pair in the event, Elavenil Valarivan and Kiran Ankush Jadhav, tallied 631.8 to finish sixth overall. Later, Indian shooters failed to advance to the medal matches in the 10m air pistol mixed team event with Manu Bhaker- Aditya Malra hitting 577 to finish sixth in the qualifiers. Suruchi Singh and Varun Tomar (576) ended 10th. Saturday's gold was India's second in the competition, coming a day after Suruchi Phogat completed a golden hat-trick in World Cups, in the 10m air pistol. With four medals, India finished overall third, behind China (6 medals) and Norway (4 medals). Sift Kaur Samra and Elavenil Valarivan took bronze in the 50m 3 Positions and 10m air rifle events respectively.
Indian Express
a day ago
- Sport
- Indian Express
Gold winners: Arjun Babuta and Arya Borse beat Chinese to win 10m air rifle mixed team gold in World Cup
A day after Indian shooter Suruchi Phogat became the first Indian to win three ISSF World Cup titles, the Indian pair of Arjun Babuta and Arya Borse emerged as the champions in the 10m air rifle mixed team gold medal. They clinched a 17-7 win over the Chinese Olympics stars Sheng Lihao and Wang Zefei in ISSF Munich world cup on Saturday. Lihao/Zefei had registered a world record score of 635.9 prior to the final ahead of the Indians's 635.2 but the story changed in the final. It was also the first time that Babuta edged out Lihao, though in a team format. 'When such wins come after such high scores in qualification in mixed team format, it gives you a lot of confidence. Sheng Lihao is currently the best 10m air rifle shooter in the world and to beat such a strong mixed team will count as one of our cherished medals. A joyous final,' Babuta told The Indian Express. The Nasik native 22-year-old Borse, who started rifle shooting as she found the pistol to be too small a weapon, had reached the mixed team finals twice this World Cup season pairing up with Rudrankksh Patil. Babuta, 26, had reached the final of the mixed team event in the Cairo world cup last year. Babuta shot a score of 317.7 in qualification, Borse shot 317.5 to qualify for the gold medal against the Chinese pair. 'As compared to Individual events where we get 75 minutes to shoot 60 shots, here we shoot 30 shots each in 30 minutes. Yes, fatigue is less in mixed team qualification but then the margin of error is less,' Babuta spoke about the challenges, saying there is less chance of a comeback in 30 shots. 'One also has to plan the series with fewer breaks without any dry shooting, which helps us in individual rounds,' says Babuta. The previous qualification world record score of 635.8 was held by Patil and Narmada Raju in Cairo World Cup in 2023 and Borse would also talk about how it is different from individual event making to the top four teams to have a chance of a medal. Babuta spoke about how they try to view the mixed-team event as an individual event to help them cope mentally. 'We have to go with the individual shots' mental state of mind here. I cannot control my partner's scores and if I worry about her scores, I would not be able to give my best,' Babuta said. 'In individual events, top eight shooters qualify but in mixed teams, only the top four teams qualify for the medal round,' says Borse. In the final, each pair shoots one shot per series with a combined score determining the series winner that yields two points. The first pair to reach 16 points win the gold. Borse started with a 9.8, Babuta followed it with a 10.6, while Zefei/Lihao came up with 10.4 and 10.1 to take 2-0 lead. But in the next four series, the Indian pair charged ahead to a 8-2 lead. The sixth series was tied at one point each, but soon the Indians were up 13-3. Eventually, the Indians won the 12th series to win the gold 17-7. The Indian pair shot 18 shots of 10.5 or more as compared to the Chinese's 12 shots. 'We do a lot of breathing exercises in between to take our mind away from the total score too,' says Babuta. Overall, in the final, Borse shot a total of 125.7, Babuta made 127, as compared to Zefei's 125.3 and Lihao's 124.7. Starting 2026, ISSF will change the format of the medal matches, with the top four teams in qualification fighting an elimination format. Right now, the top two teams advance to the gold medal match, and third and fourth ranked teams fight for bronze. But national coach Deepali Deshpande sees the strength of individual scores for a pair as the best chance in a newer format too. 'In national camps, we do make them practice in team formats and luckily we have some top ranked individual shooters. Yes, it's a shared responsibility but the shooters are relaxed. The new finals elimination details are not out but I guess it will be a 24 shot format. Even then, the score of the pair will be counted and the mantra is to shoot individually.' Nitin Sharma is an Assistant Editor with the sports team of The Indian Express. Based out of Chandigarh, Nitin works with the print sports desk while also breaking news stories for the online sports team. A Ramnath Goenka Excellence in Journalism Award recipient for the year 2017 for his story 'Harmans of Moga', Nitin has also been a two-time recipient of the UNFPA-supported Laadli Media Awards for Gender Sensitivity for the years 2022 and 2023 respectively. Nitin mainly covers Olympics sports disciplines with his main interests in shooting, boxing, wrestling, athletics and much more. The last 17 years with The Indian Express has seen him unearthing stories across India from as far as Andaman and Nicobar to the North East. Nitin also covers cricket apart from women's cricket with a keen interest. Nitin has covered events like the 2010 Commonwealth Games, the 2011 ODI World Cup, 2016 T20 World Cup and the 2017 AIBA World Youth Boxing Championships. An alumnus of School of Communication Studies, Panjab University, from where he completed his Masters in Mass Communications degree, Nitin has been an avid quizzer too. A Guru Nanak Dev University Colour holder, Nitin's interest in quizzing began in the town of Talwara Township, a small town near the Punjab-Himachal Pradesh border. When not reporting, Nitin's interests lie in discovering new treks in the mountains or spending time near the river Beas at his hometown. ... Read More
Deccan Herald
2 days ago
- Sport
- Deccan Herald
Dominant Arya-Arjun pair wins gold for India in 10m air rifle mixed team event
Borse and Babuta were in fine fettle when it mattered the most to win the top prize in the prestigious tournament, not giving the Chinese an inch.
Hindustan Times
02-05-2025
- Sport
- Hindustan Times
Babuta takes a shot at new event
Mumbai: Paris Olympian Arjun Babuta is currently in trial-and-error mode. He's experimenting with his shooting — both equipment and mindset wise — and exploring interests beyond it. As part of that, the 10m air rifle shooter who finished fourth at last year's Olympics will divide his attention to a new event. And thus, a week after returning home from the ISSF World Cup Lima with a 10m air rifle silver medal, Babuta resumed training for 50m rifle three positions to give a shot in it at the next trials. He's occasionally dabbled in the longer, more strenuous event before, but now wants to 'treat it equally' with his primary event. 'I want to give equal importance to 50m as my 10m event,' Babuta said. 'I'm very close to the top eight every time, but there's still improvement to be done in it. Because it's a new event for me, it will take some time. I also have to get physically fitter for it. 'Right now, because I'm prioritising the 10m, I have to sacrifice on training for 50m. I'll change that this year. I want to explore that side of myself as well.' Babuta is on an exploration path outside of the shooting ranges as well. He's gone back to practicing the tabla, is taking online lessons on photography and listening to a wide range of podcasts, among other things. All of this, he believes, is helping him 'learn a lot about myself and also other people's perspective'. Babuta went through an emotional rollercoaster after his first Olympics where he had the finish line in sight but couldn't cross it for a medal. He's since been made to carry that fourth-place tag wherever he has gone. It played a role in the 26-year-old wishing to look at life beyond shooting; something that isn't too common among elite shooters in India. 'People for which that works, who think shooting all the time, well and good. But for me, wherever I have gone in public, everyone says, 'He finished fourth at the Paris Olympics'. I then ask myself: is that the only thing I want to be known for, or even something beyond? 'I believe there has to be personal growth as well, and life must have balance. I find peace in trying all these things. And feel like I am developing too,' he said. Also giving him peace is keeping a diary, an exercise Babuta engages in at least twice a week when he is mentally detached from shooting and all by himself. Time constraints prevent him from writing more often. 'I write about everything, not just shooting,' he said. On the shooting front, the World Cup silver was a 'respectable' outcome for him after a few close finishes outside the podium. Babuta stood 0.1 points behind China's Paris Olympics champion Sheng Lihao in a high-quality final in Lima. More than ending the medal drought, though, Babuta was happier about his experiments and changes in mental approach — not seeing the scores throughout the match, for example — starting to show results. 'You have to be gutsy to try these new things. I wasn't getting success with it for a while, and so I felt relieved and happy once I got it,' he said.
