Paris Olympics: Arjun Babuta enters 10m air rifle final

Indian shooter Arjun Babuta qualified for the 10m air rifle final at the Paris Olympic Games by finishing seventh in the qualification round on Sunday.

Babuta secures place in finals with 630.1 points

25-year-old Babuta shot a sequence of 105.7, 104.9, 105.5, 105.4, 104.0 and 104.6 to make the cut with a score of 630.1 points.

He will aim for a medal finish in the eight-shooter final on Monday after narrowly missing out on a final berth in the mixed team event with Ramita Jindal on Saturday, where the couple finished sixth in qualification.

Also read: Paris Olympics: Manu Bhaker wins bronze in 10m air pistol

The Chandigarh native, who has been on the national team since 2016, was a serial underachiever before breaking into the national spotlight by winning an Olympic spot at the Asian Shooting Championships in Changwon last year.

Army member Sandeep Singh shot 629.3 to finish 12th in the same event, capping off his Paris campaign with plenty of experience after ousting world champion Rudrankksh Patil in the selection trials in April and May.

Also read: Paris Olympics: Lakshya Sen beats Kevin Cordon to enter second round

Boxing: Nikhat Zareen reaches pre-quarters in style

Nikhat Zareen, a two-time world champion boxer, stamped her authority in the women’s 50kg category with a resounding 5-0 victory against Vietnam’s Thi Tam Nguyen, while Preeti Pawar (54kg) advanced to the Asian Games quarterfinals on Sunday.

Zareen defeated two-time Asian Champion Nguyen by unanimous decision in a rematch of the World Championship final from March, advancing to the pre-quarters.

Zareen, one of only four boxers who did not receive a first-round bye in the 50kg event despite being the defending world champion, dominated the fight from the start.