Who is Arjun Babuta, the Indian shooter who missed Paris Olympics medal by a whisker?

Indian shooter Arjun Babuta missed a Paris Olympic medal by a whisker as he finished fourth in the men's 10m air rifle final on Monday, July 29. Arjun was in the hunt for a medal in the final and was in the top three of the eight-man shooter field. But he narrowly missed out on a medal as he got eliminated right before the medals were confirmed.

Arjun shot 208.4 in his final. The Gold medal was won by China's Lihao Sheng, while Sweden's Victor Lindgren took the Silver. Croatia's Miran Maricic won the bronze medal. 

Arjun Babuta's achievements and medals

Arjun is an Indian 10m air rifle shooter. He has won five Gold medals across the events he has been part of. The Jalalabad-born has won Gold medals at the 10m air rifle ISSF World Cup 2022 in individual and team events. He also has a Gold in the Asian Shooting Championships 2023, along with his Golds in the World University Games 2021 and ISSF Junior World Cup 2016.

Arjun had a difficult time in 2018 when he picked injuries and health issues. But he bounced back from his setbacks to win the medals in the upcoming years at the Worlds. He then made his Olympic debut in Paris and was brilliant in the qualifiers. 

In the ongoing Paris Olympics 10m air rifle final, Arjun qualified for the medal match on Sunday after finishing 7th in the qualification. Arjun shot a total of 630.1 in the 49-shooter field. His score read - 105.5, 105.4, 104.0 and 104.6.The other Indian shooter in the qualifiers - Sandeep Singh - finished 12th with a 629.3 score to his name. 

Arjun Babuta's career medals and achievements