Arjun Babuta narrowly misses medal, finishes fourth in men's 10m air rifle
Chateauroux (PTI): Indian shooter Arjun Babuta buckled under pressure and finished fourth in the men's 10m air rifle competition after coming close to winning a medal in his maiden Olympics here on Monday.
Babuta shot a total of 208.4.
A 9.5 in response to Croatia's Miran Maricic's 10.7 put paid to his hopes of finishing on the podium.
The 25-year-old Babuta started the final with a 10.7 and followed that with a 10.2.
A third shot of 10.5 saw him take the fourth spot while a 10.4 in his fourth attempt lifted him to the third spot. He finished the first series with a solid 10.6.
He started the second series with a 10.7, followed that with a 10.5 and shot a near-perfect 10.8 in the second shot of the first elimination series.
That effort propelled him into the second place while reducing the deficit between him and world record holder Chinese Sheng Lihao to 0.1 point.
However, he could not sustain the form and missed out on the medal.
Lihao claimed the top honours in this event with an Olympic record of 252.2. Sweden's Victor Lindgren took the silver medal with a score of 251.4, followed by Croatia's Miran Maricic (230) at the third spot.
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Lebanon appoints new representative for talks with Israel, rejects linkage to Iran
Beirut: Lebanon’s has moved to underline its independent position in ongoing regional developments, amid attempts to link the country to the broader conflict involving Iran, the United States and Israel.
President Joseph Aoun, while announcing the appointment of former US ambassador Simon Karam as Lebanon’s representative in talks with Israel, made it clear that Karam would be the sole representative for Lebanon and that there would be no substitute.
The move comes in response to what the Lebanese officials see as efforts by Iran to tie Lebanon’s situation to the wider regional conflict. Iran had indicated that there would be no ceasefire involving the US, Israel and Iran unless it also included a ceasefire in Lebanon.
Some groups, including Hezbollah and its supporters, had expressed support for linking the situations, citing concerns that the Lebanese government has limited leverage in negotiations with Israel. Lebanon is not formally a party to the conflict, and its army is considered weak.
However, others, including Prime Minister Nawaf Salam, have opposed this approach. They view Iran’s stance as an attempt to influence Lebanon’s internal affairs and see it as undermining the country’s sovereignty.
Officials backing the government’s position say the move is aimed at reaffirming Lebanon’s sovereignty and ensuring that decisions about peace and ceasefire within the country are not dictated externally.
They also see it as a safeguard, so that any breakdown in talks between the US, Israel and Iran does not automatically lead to renewed conflict in Lebanon.
