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Gagan Narang has been dubbed the ‘powerhouse’ of Indian shooting by the Nation Rifle Association of India (NRAI), a day after he earned the country its third Rio Olympics quota place in the sport with a bronze medal at the ISSF World Cup in Fort Benning, USA.
Narang wins World Cup bronze, secures quota for Rio Olympics
Battling injuries and a dip in form for some time, the 32-year-old Narang showed glimpses of his old self en route to clinching the bronze medal in the men's 50m rifle prone event.
"Gagan Narang is a powerhouse of Indian shooting, and he has proved it again by earning India its third quota place for the Rio Olympics," NRAI President Raninder Singh said.
"I would like to congratulate him on winning the bronze medal and the quota place for India. This only showcases the depth in the Indian shooting contingent, and we are very hopeful of seeing many more results like this in the future in the run-up to the Rio Olympics," he added.
It was not long ago that the London Olympics bronze medallist was left out of the 10m air-rifle Indian team for the first three World Cups this year after he failed to record the minimum qualification score required.
The former world record holder also failed to win anything big at the World Championships and Asian Games last year.
But the man, who was once winning medals by the bagful, turned the clock on Saturday. He shot a qualification score of 626.3 points to enter the final in eighth position. In the final, he ensured that India got a third Olympic quota in shooting, scoring a total of 185.8.
The other two Indian shooters to have won quota places for the country for next year's mega event are Jitu Rai and Apurvi Chandela.