Rio de Janeiro: Abhishek Verma won the gold medal and  Saurabh Chaudhary the bronze, in a dominant display by Indian shooters in the men's 10m air pistol event of the World Cup here.

Verma shot 244.2 in the eight-man finals, while Chaudhary's 221.9 was good enough to get him the bronze. The silver medal went to Turkey's Ismail Keles, who aggregated 243.1 in the season's fourth ISSF World Cup for rifle and pistol shooters. 

India have already exhausted the maximum Olympic quotas available per country in this event, with both Verma and Chaudhary securing the quotas in the previous qualifying events. 

In the qualifications, Saurabh Chaudhary was fourth with 584 points and Verma entered the finals in fifth position with 582 points, while Gaurav Rana was 44th with 571.

India were placed at the top of the medals tally with two gold, one silver and a bronze. The young Elavenil Valarivan opened India's account with a gold in the women's 10m air rifle event on the opening day.

Sanjeev Rajput then claimed a silver in the men's 50m rifle 3 positions final to secure India's Olympic quota. Verma and Chaudhary ended the second day of competitions on a high note for India. 

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Muscat (PTI): Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday said India of the 21st century takes big and swift decisions, moves ahead by setting big goals and delivers results in a time-bound manner.

Modi was speaking at a gathering of the Indian community in Oman's capital Muscat. The prime minister is here on a two-day visit.

"Twenty-first century India takes bold decisions and swift decisions, moves ahead with big goals, delivers results within a defined timeline," he said.

Modi hailed the recent decision of UNESCO to inscribe the 'Deepavali' festival on the List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity.

"Our 'diya' will now illuminate not just our homes, but entire world," he said.

It is a matter of pride for all Indians, and this "global recognition for Diwali is a recognition of that light of ours which spreads the message of hope, amity and humanity," he said.

Addressing the gathering of Indian students and the community at the 'Maitiri Parv' event, Modi said that India and Oman are tied not just by geography, but also by generations.

"Our diversity is a strong foundation of our culture. Every tradition comes with a new thinking...We Indians, wherever we go, we respect diversity," he said.

Underscoring that the Indian diaspora has become a living example of coexistence and cooperation, he said, "You are the biggest custodian of these centuries-old ties."

In his message to the youth, Modi said, "Dream big, learn deeply, innovate boldly.”