London Olympics Live: Yes! Gagan Narang wins a bronze

India at the Olympics: Hockey team, Narang in action on day three

There are twelve golds on offer today and India just might sneak in a medal or two! To see India’s complete schedule click here. Keep refreshing for the latest.

- Abhinav Bindra loses in 10m Air Rifle qualifying
- Gagan Narang wins bronze in 10m Air Rifle
- Bombayla Devi crashes out

Sports Minister Ajay Maken weighs in

“Had it not been for one shot, Gagan could have won the gold as well,” says Sports Minister Ajay Maken.

This feels good

Narang steps up on the podium, waves to the crowd, smiles. All of India smiles with him.

Tenth shot, 10.7, Bronze medal

Wow. India finally have a medal. It took a bit. Can we somehow get a gold at London 2012? This is a good start. Our shooters have set the ball rolling. We are proud of you Gagan.

Yes! Gagan Narang has won the bronze for India. Campriani won the silver and MOLDOVEANU Alin George won the gold. Gagan’s score in the final round — 10.7, 9.7, 10.6, 10.7, 10.4, 10.6, 9.9, 9.5, 10.3, 10.7. He shot 598 in the qualification. Super shooting. Successive medals at the Olympics in the 10m Air Rifle event for India — Bindra won gold in 2008 and now, Narang has won bronze. Great stuff.

Romania’s MOLDOVEANU Alin George, who won gold, had a total of 702.1, Italy’s Campriani, silver medal, had 701.5 and Narang had a total of 701.1. In fourth place was Wang Tao of China with 700.4.

Ninth shot, 10.3

Narang is still third — 690.4. MOLDOVEANU Alin George has moved into first place – 691.8. Campriani is in second – 691.1.

Eighth shot, 9.5

China’s Wang Tao shot a 9.2 but Narang shot a 9.5 to move back into the bronze position. This is exciting stuff, see-sawing with every shot. He is ahead of Wang by just 0.1. Campriani remains in gold medal position with 681.7. Narang’s score is 680.1

Seventh shot, 9.9

Damn. Gagan shifts into fourth place. His second shot below 10 points. Campriani shot a 10.8. Narang is trailing for bronze by 0.2 — China’s Wang Tao is in position to take the bronze as things stand.

Sixth shot, 10.6

Gagan in second place! He shot a 10.6 but Campriani shot a 10.8 to take a 0.3 pts lead and a total of 661.0. The leader MOLDOVEANU Alin George shot a 9.9 to fall to third.

Fifth shot, 10.7

At the half-way stage, Narang shot a 10.4 to stay in third place, trailing by 0.7. MOLDOVEANU Alin George is leading with 650.8. Campriani has the silver by 0.1 points. While Gagan has a 0.5 margin for the bronze.

Fourth shot, 10.7

Narang is in superb touch. He gets a 10.7. MOLDOVEANU Alin George hit a 10.3 (total 640.2). So Gagan, 639.7 pts, has made up the gap to the leader by 0.5. This is so close. Campriani of Italy is in second place – just 0.1 points ahead.

Narang shoots a 10.6 with third shot

Narang in third place now. He has 629 points. MOLDOVEANU Alin George is in first place with 629.9.

Narang shoots a 9.7

After two shot, Narang is in fourth place with 618.4. MOLDOVEANU Alin George is in first place with 619.8.

Narang begins with a 10.7

After one shot, Narang is in second place with 608.7. Only behind MOLDOVEANU Alin George. He shot a 10.7.

Narang for gold!

He was third best in the qualifying — CAMPRIANI Niccolo and MOLDOVEANU Alin George finished with 599 — equalling the Olympic record. The event is just about to start.

Almost time for Narang’s 10m Air Rifle final

After the roller-coaster ride in the morning, Gagan Narang will hope to retain his calm as he gets ready for the 10m Air Rifle final with begins at 16:30. We are ready, is he? Remember the winner is determined by the highest aggregate score (qualification + final). Given that Gagan finished third, he stands a good chance.

Bombayla Devi crashes out in 1/16 Eliminations

India’s Bombayla Devi crashed out in 1/16 Eliminations by a score of 2-6 against Mexico’s Aida Roman. Earlier in the day, she had beaten Greecce’s Psarra Evangelia 6-4.

Bindra disappointed

“I could have taken the easy way out — won a gold medal and retired on a high after the Bejing gold – but that would have been a very lousy and cheap way to go out. But I am glad I showed the courage to come back. I was pretty relaxed last night and today morning but I had a tough time today especially in the last round,” said Abhinav Bindra. “I will go back home, I have been away for a while from my family but I love shooting, I love the spot, I am sure I am going to continue.”

“Would like to wish Gagan the very best. He shot an excellent qualifying round, think he will do very well in the final,” Bindra further added.

Read the entire story here.

Bombayla Devi through to last 16

She won her match against Greecce’s PSARRA Evangelia 6-4 in the women’s individual archery competition. Good day for Indians at the Games. This was the 1/32 eliminations. She was totally on target. Deepika Kumari is seeded 1st in the event.

TV grab of Bombayla Devi.
The Archery Rules

The ranking round is used to rank the athletes from one to 64. The athletes then shoot in a head-to-head elimination format, shooting in pairs: the number one athlete against the athlete ranked 64th, second against 63rd and so on. The competition is the best of five sets, with each athlete shooting three arrows per set.

Athletes score two points for winning the set and one point for a draw. The first athlete to six points wins the match.

If a match is tied, a single-arrow shoot-off is held – the nearest to the centre of the target wins.

At the end of the knockout stage the winners of the semi-final matches compete in the gold-medal match and the remaining two athletes compete in the bronze-medal match.

Women’s Individual Archery begins

Bombayla Devi’s event has begun.

The 10m Air Rifle Final

The final of the 10m Air Rifle also takes place today at 16:45 IST. This might be a pretty wild ride. Gold is won by the shooter with the maximum aggregate (qualification + the final). Go Narang!

That was heartbreaking

Bindra was shooting pretty well, right into the last series and then things went wrong. He couldn’t afford to miss anything but ended up with 97. He sure put up a fight, lets have some applause please. Of course, India still has a chance for GOLD. Narang was brilliant. He shot 5 scores of 100 and only had one bad series, the third one in which he shot 98.

Gagan Narang qualified for the final. Getty Images
Narang qualifies for the final

Narang is through to the final with a score of 598 after 6 series. He missed out on the previous Olympic record by just one point. He was third best in the qualifying - CAMPRIANI Niccolo and MOLDOVEANU Alin George finished with 599 — equalling the Olympic record.

Top 8 in 10m Air Rifle
1. CAMPRIANI Niccolo – 599 (56 inner 10s)
2. MOLDOVEANU Alin George – 599 (53 inner 10s)
3. NARANG Gagan – 598 (53 inner 10s)
4. WANG Tao – 598 (52 inner 10s)
5. CHARHEIKA Illia – 597 (52 inner 10s)
6. BAKKEN Ole Magnus – 597 (47 inner 10s)
7. HELLENBRAND Peter – 596 (51 inner 10s)
8. PIASECKI Pierre Edmond – 596 (50 inner 10s)
…
16. BINDRA Abhinav – 594 (45 inner 10s)

Narang still on course

Narang still on course for the final. He has 588 after 59 shots. One more 10 or one more 9, he is in. Bindra finishes on 594 after 6 series - he out. It was a good run. He had scores of 99, 99, 100, 100, 99, 97.

by FP Sports