Divyansh Singh Panwar just didn’t know it!

Kazakhstan’s Islam Satpayev (629.6) was named as the eighth shooter for the final.

It was hard not to feel sorry for India shooter Divyansh Singh Panwar at the Fuyan Yinhu Sports Centre on Monday. After finishing the qualifying round of the 10m air rifle individual event in eighth place with a score of 629.6, the young Rajasthan shooter thought he had made the final, but fate had other ideas.

As per the Asian Games competition rules, only two players from each country can qualify for the eight-man final, and Panwar’s compatriots Rudrankksh Patil (632.5) and Aishwary Pratap Singh Tomar (631.6) had already qualified ahead of him. Kazakhstan’s Islam Satpayev (629.6) was named as the eighth shooter for the final.

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Panwar, 20, admitted he wasn’t aware of the regulations here. “I qualified eighth and thought I was in the final. Nearly 15-20 minutes after the qualifying round also I had no idea. Then my coach came and told me about this rule. It’s extremely disappointing not to make the final,” said Panwar.

The two-time Asian Championships gold medallist felt hard done by because only moments earlier, Rudrankksh, Aishwary and he had won India’s first gold medal of this Games with a world record score in the 10m air rifle men’s team event. “I was shooting well, so it’s tough to miss out [on the individual final], but next time I’ll try and do better. Thankfully, we won the team gold so that’s a consolation,” he added with a smile.

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