A day after he was overlooked for the Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna, shooter Gagan Narang won the bronze in the 10 metre air rifle event at the World Championship in Munich and became the first Indian to qualify for the 2012 London Olympics.

World No. 2 Narang shot 597 in the qualifying and 102 in the final round for a total of 699 to win the bronze. Olympic champion Abhinav Bindra finished a disappointing 25th and failed to qualify for the final round. Bindra had finished on the podium of the last World Championship, in 2006.

 

The gold went to Italian Niccolo Campriani, who shot a total of 702.5 (599 qualifying + 103.5 final) while Hungarian Peter Sidi bagged the silver with 700.4 points (599 qualifying + 101.4 final). “I am happy that another Indian has made it to the medals here in Munich,” said Narang after the awards. 

 

“I have been struggling with the materials in the last months, but now it’s ok. I am ready to go for the Games,” he added.
National coach Sunny Thomas felt that the bronze was a fitting reply to the awards selection committee, headed by PT Usha.
“Even before the start Narang told me that he was sad after being left out. 

 

“I told him just to go and bag a medal and show the whole world that he deserves the Khel Ratna,” Thomas said. Narang, who is now seen as India’s best bet in the Commonwealth Games, shot the bronze in his pet 10m air rifle event at the Beijing World Cup and qualified for the World Championships.