As Indian shooters prepare to compete in the Asian Championships in Changwon, Korea, their mission is clear – secure quota places for the 2024 Paris Olympics. This is a significant challenge, especially for pistol shooters, who have yet to secure any Paris quota slots.
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The focus will be on talented marksmen and markswomen like Manu Bhaker, Esha Singh, Rhythm Sangwan, Palak, Anish Bhanwala, Vijayveer Sidhu, and Shiva Narwal. These shooters will strive to end the drought and earn their Paris tickets in this crucial competition.
With a total of 24 Olympic quota places available across 12 events, India has the potential to surpass the 15 slots they secured for the 2020 Tokyo Olympics. However, this won’t be an easy feat, as strong competitors like China, Japan, and South Korea are also vying for coveted spots in Paris.
Following an outstanding performance at the recent Hangzhou Asian Games, where India secured a record-breaking 22 medals, including seven gold, the Indian shooting contingent is well-prepared for the upcoming challenge. The Asian Championships in Changwon promise to be even more competitive than the quadrennial showpiece, given the high stakes of Olympic berths.
Pistol shooters will undoubtedly be in the spotlight in both the men’s and women’s categories, and their dedicated national coaches, including Samaresh Jung and Ronak Pandit, will play a crucial role in their success. Additionally, the championships will offer opportunities for shooters like 10m air rifle marksman Divyansh Singh Panwar, trap marksman Prithviraj Tondaiman, Kynan Chenai, and Zorawar Singh Sandhu to secure their Paris berths.
The National Rifle Association of India’s (NRAI) policy of dropping shooters who have already qualified for the Olympics or making them compete in Ranking Points Only (RPO) events in Olympic qualification tournaments has often resulted in talented shooters missing out on crucial competitive experience.
Shooters like 10m air rifle world champion Rudrankksh Patil, trap shooter Bhowneesh Mendiratta, 50m rifle 3-positions world record holder Sift Kaur Samra, and women’s trap shooter Rajeshwari Kumari, among others, will participate in the RPO category. This means they won’t have the chance to compete in the Finals of their respective events, even if they achieve the scores required for the title round.
The NRAI’s preference for shooters who have not yet qualified for the Olympics is aimed at maximizing India’s quota places for the 2024 Paris Games. However, this approach has faced criticism from experts like former Asian Games gold medalist Ronjan Sodhi and former NRAI national selector TS Dhillon.
They argue that making qualified shooters sit out or compete in RPO events hinders their performance and does not contribute to India’s medal prospects at the Olympics. The pressure of competing in Finals is a unique experience, and giving shooters more opportunities to thrive under pressure is essential for their development.
While World Championships and Asian Championships are the main competitions for earning Olympic quota places, the landscape has evolved. World Cups no longer hold the same significance in this regard, as top marksmen rarely participate in them.
