Rio: Jitu Rai qualifies for air pistol final; Gurpreet crashes out

RIO DE JANEIRO: Leading medal hope in shooting, army's Jitu Rai, qualified for the men's 10 m air pistol by finishing sixth out of 46 competitors in the Olympic Games here today.

The other Indian in the fray Gurpreet Singh crashed out finishing 20th with a score of 576.

Jitu fired his way to 580 points with sequence of 96 in the first two series followed by 98, 96, 96 and 98. He shot 22 X.

Italian Guiseppe Giardano shot the same but had 24 X which gave him the fifth position.

China's Pang Wei returned 590, six better than the second placed Jin Jongoh of Korea. The top eight qualified for the finals to be held later today.