Anjali Bhagwat

Beijing: Torrential rain played havoc here once again, upsetting all schedule and throwing all calculations out of gear. Rowing and canoeing were postponed till Friday and the tennis matches were delayed too.

In the morning, Indian shooters Anjali Bhagwat and Avneet Kaur Sidhu bowed out of the Beijing Games following their defeat in the 50m rifle 3-position here on Thursday.

Anjali managed only 571 out of 600. She shot 191 in prone, 189 in standing and 191 in kneeling which gave her an overall 32nd spot in the qualification round.

Avneet, making her debut at the Olympics, totalled 552 to finish 42nd. She shot 190 in prone, 183 in standing and 179 in kneeling.

According to their Hungarian coach Lazlo Szucsak: “Avneet needs experience and I think she was not prepared enough. Of course no one expected her to win a medal but she was not in the best shape of her career and it was a very okay sort of performance.”

As for three-time Olympian Anjali, he added: “I expected her to shoot 580-plus. She was under pressure and this is surely disappointing when you see her score below her ability.”

“There is not enough competition in India and Abhinav (Bindra) was smart enough to stay out and compete in Europe instead.

“We got just two-and-a-half years to prepare for Beijing and that does not ensure medals,” he said, adding: “I think former shooters like Kuheli (Ganguly) and Anuja (Jung) should turn to coaching.”

Indian challenge in swimming came to an end as neither Virdhawal Khade nor Ankur Poseria could repeat or better their personal best on Thursday.