India secured their 11th Olympic quota from shooting, on Friday, when Ayonika Paul bagged the silver in women's 10m air rifle but compatriot Pooja Ghatkar narrowly missed out on a berth at the quadrennial extravaganza in a high-scoring final at the Asia Olympic Qualifying Competition.
The 23-year-old Commonwealth Games silver medallist finished on the podium after she shot 205.9 in the eight-woman final, same as gold medallist Najmeh Khedmati of Iran, but lost out on the top prize as she managed 9.9 to the Iranian's 10.1 in the shoot-off in New Delhi.
Pooja recorded 184.5 after leading the field till the 17th shot. An 8.8 in the 18th attempt proved to be her undoing on day three of competition in the continent's last quota event for Rio Games at the Dr. Karni Singh Shooting Range.
Ayonika began the final on a poor note, managing 9.6, a stark contrast to the cracking start made by Pooja, who shot a high 10.7.
Thanks to Ayonika's effort, India have equalled the number of quotas it secured ahead of the 2012 London Olympics.
The competition inside the 10m air rifle range was intense as the participants produced some excellent shooting, with scores rarely going below 10.
In the men's 50m pistol, Omkar Singh could not make the podium as he finished fifth after shooting 147.0 in the final.
In the women's 10m air rifle event there were two quota places available. However, India were eligible for only one (each country can win a maximum of two quotas per event) as Apurvi Chandela had already secured one quota in the event in earlier competitions.
