Babuta, 25, shot a series of 105.7, 104.9, 105.5, 105.4, 104.0 and 104.6 to qualify with a score of 630.1 points.
He will try his luck again in the eight-shooter final on Monday after narrowly missing out on a place in the mixed team event with Ramita Jindal on Saturday, where the pair finished sixth in qualifying.
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The Chandigarh boy, who has been part of the national team since 2016, was a perennial underachiever before bursting into national prominence by bagging an Olympic berth at the Asian Shooting Championships last year in Changwon.
Armyman Sandeep Singh shot 629.3 to finish 12th in the same event, ending his Paris campaign, having gained plenty of experience in his first Olympics after replacing world champion Rudrankksh Patil at the selection trials in April-May.
China’s Sheng Lihao topped the qualifying round with a score of 631.7, just one point shy of the qualifying record of 632.7 set by his compatriot Yang Haoran at the Tokyo Games.
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