Never thought about world record: Saurabh Chaudhary

Saurabh Chaudhary not only created a new world record on Sunday but also secured an Olympic quota for the country at the ongoing ISSF World Cup. However, the 16-year-old shooter said he never thought about the quota or any record, else he wouldnt have achieved the feat.

Featuring in his maiden senior World Cup appearance, comprising several seasoned campaigners, Saurabh showed no signs of nervousness to bag gold in the men's 10 metre air pistol event with a world record score of 245.

Talking to media after securing the first place on podium, Saurabh said: "I was just trying to do what I usually do. I never thought about the quota or any world record otherwise I wouldn't have been here."

"I didn't think about any record. If I would have done so, this wouldn't have happened at all," he said.

Saurabh took an early lead in the final and maintained his dominance throughout the contest. "I knew I had a big lead, but didn't cared about it. I just kept doing what I usually do and my focus was solely on my shots," the shooter said.

Commenting on entering the senior level, Saurabh said: "The competition was really tough. I rarely watched the scoreboard. In the senior category, there are several high-level shooters, like world champions or Olympic champions. You gain huge experience playing with them."

On playing in front of a packed home crowd, he said: "I have played with such crowd everywhere. But my focus was not there. It was the same atmosphere like at the 2018 Asian Games in Jakarta," he remarked.

Earlier on Sunday, Saurabh had topped the qualification round with a score of 587 to enter the final, while compatriots Abhishek Verma and Ravinder Singh failed to advance to the final round.

--IANS

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