A team full of shooters making their Olympic debut will aim to succeed in the shooting competition to be held in Chateauroux, France on Friday, free from the burden of past performances. India has won a total of four Olympic medals in shooting so far, but the account remained empty in the last two Olympics, which has increased the additional pressure of expectations on the record 21-member Indian contingent. The National Shooting Federation of India (NRAI) has given preference to the current form to select the team and hopes that this time they will win medals here.
That is why the quota winners were also put in the trials, in which the less experienced Sandeep Singh defeated 2022 world champion Rudraksh Patil, who had secured a quota for India in the 10 meter air rifle. Patil wrote a letter to the NRAI and asked to be retained in the trials, but the federation remained firm on its decision. Except Manu Bhaker, Aishwarya Pratap Singh Tomar, Anjum Moudgil and Elavenil Valarivan, all other shooters will experience the Olympic stage for the first time.
India will participate in 15 shooting events. 22-year-old Manu, who has won many medals in world events, could not recover from a pistol malfunction in the 10m air pistol qualification at the Tokyo Olympics, but this time she would like to perform better, she will participate in three events including 10m air pistol, 25m pistol and 10m pistol mixed team.
Also Read: Complete Schedule of India’s Matches at the Day 1 of Paris Olympics 2024
India will mainly face challenge from China, which is fielding 21 shooters in various events. All eyes will also be on another female shooter Sifat Kaur Samra, who won the gold medal in the 50m rifle three position at the Asian Games. One of the experienced shooters, Moudgil is making a comeback and will play with Sifat in the women’s 50m rifle 3 position.
Twenty-year-old Rhythm Sangwan will participate in two events, 10m air pistol and 10m air pistol mixed team. Sangwan said, “Preparation is going well. The range is good. I was a little upset to be away from the sports village in Paris. It is not as expected. I have come here to compete and win. The Olympics is the biggest stage here.” Among the male shooters, only Tomar has been a part of the Olympics before.