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PARIS: They call it the ordeal or the curse of the fourth-place finish. One can be on the podium or last but the fourth is called the worst of all. It will torment the athletes throughout their life. Ask any Indian athlete — from the great Milkha Singh, PT Usha, Joydeep Karmakar to Dipa Karmakar — it will draw the same answer.

Arjun Babuta has joined the dreaded list on Monday. You just need to prod him a bit and he would say this was the ‘worst’ moment and no one can prepare for it. All his efforts to qualify for the final and his immaculate shots in the final before the last will be forgotten. Living with the curse of the fourth-place finish is perhaps the worst an athlete can endure.

“Fourth hone ka dukh bhi ho raha jyada (I am sad for finishing fourth),” was what Babuta said after the men's 10m air rifle final. He couldn’t hold back the tears and broke down as well. “It is the worst feeling,” he said “One tends to think if one has given 100 per cent or not. Whether there was any shortcoming. But in the final here I have given everything and I am proud of it. Maybe that luck eluded me,” he said, slipping out of the third position with a 9.6 in the last shot. “There is a fight raging with counter thoughts after the finish. Eventually, I have to tell myself that I have given 100 per cent.” Babuta did not know the reason. He will never know. Not finishing in the top 3 could be attributed to luck as well and that is the best he would want to believe.

Earlier, it was almost going to be that one more perfect day at the Chateauroux shooting centre, some 300 km from the French capital. Babuta has struggled quite a bit in his life. From collapsing during training due to a bulged disk to recovery and trying weird things to get into shape during the Covid pandemic lockdown, he did everything to get into the India team. He knows a bit about resilience too.

Just before Covid, he collapsed at the shooting ranges and a doctor even predicted he would no longer be able to shoot.

Yet, on a sunny day, when he needed a steady mind and hands, it deserted him in the last elimination shot. His 9.6 was enough to relegate him to the fourth spot — the worst of places to finish at the Olympics. He was ahead of the bronze medal winner, Croatia's Miran Maricic, for most of the final but the last couple of shots pushed him out. Shooting can be cruel. The gold went to China’s Sheng Lihao, who never seemed to miss the target, that’s a blur pinpoint for normal spectators. Victor Lindgren of Sweden won the silver.

“I did try my best – right from preparation to qualification to the final. Maybe it was not enough. I don't know this right now but my coaches will let me know if I need to improve,” he said. Babuta had been a fighter and he certainly will fight this demon as well. He believes that the fourth finish will make him stronger.

The story of Ramita Jindal in the women’s final too was of heartbreak, but not as severe as Babuta’s. She too started well but fizzled out as the series progressed. She finally finished seventh. But after the Tokyo low for Indian shooting whatever the shooters are doing at the ranges seems a big lift.
 

Manu eyes another medal.

All eyes will be on Manu Bhaker as she seeks to be one of the most decorated female Indian athletes at the ranges. She and teammate Sarabjot Singh entered the bronze medal play-off in the 10m air pistol mixed team on Monday. The final will be played on Tuesday.

It is remarkable how she recovered from the bronze medal revelry on Sunday to wake up and start the competition anew. A big relief and burden off her shoulder made her chase more glory with ease. The demons are no longer wailing in the brain and she is focused on another medal.