Gagan Narang achieves No.1 spot in Asian ranking, Jitu Rai is No.2

NEW DELHI: Having rediscovered his old form, Olympic medallist Gagan Narang of India has achieved the number one spot in men's 50m rifle prone shooting category in Asia.

The 32-year-old Narang has 971 points to his credit while China's Shengbo Zhao is placed second with 896 points.

Pistol King Jitu Rai was placed number two in men's 50m pistol with 1929 points, behind Jongoh Jin of Korea.

Beijing Olympic gold medallist Abhinav Bindra, who is also through to Rio, was ranked fifth in 10m air rifle followed by Narang in seventh position. Gurpreet Singh was positioned fifth in 25m rapid fire pistol.

The Indian shooting ace has already booked a quota for next year's Rio Olympic Games by bagging the bronze medal in the 50m rifle prone event of the ISSF World Cup at Fort Benning, USA, in May. Jitu has also booked the country an Olympic quota with his silver medal at the World Championships last year.

Multiple time World Cup winners Narang had won a bronze medal at the London Olympics in 2012.

Troubled by injuries and his form taking a dip, Narang, was, in the beginning of the season, left out of the Indian contingent for the first three World Cups by the National Rifle Association of India in the 10m air rifle category after he failed to record the minimum qualification scored required.

In Fort Benning, Narang shot a qualification score of 626.3 points to enter the final in eighth position. In the final, he shot consistently and ensured that India got a third Olympic quota in shooting, scoring a total of 185.8.