A largely fresh brigade of Indian shooters, unburdened by the weight of past failures, is set to face the ultimate challenge of their careers as the shooting competition at the Paris Olympics kicks off on Saturday in the tranquil French town of Chateauroux. Despite India's four Olympic medals in shooting out of a total of 35 in Games' history, the nation has come up empty-handed in the last two editions of the Olympics. This adds an extra layer of pressure and expectation on the shoulders of the unprecedented 21-member Indian team stationed in central France.
The National Rifle Association of India (NRAI), India's national shooting federation, prioritized current form over past achievements when selecting the squad for this momentous event. The NRAI is hopeful that the chosen athletes will rise to the occasion and hit the mark. Even the quota winners were not exempt from the rigorous selection process, as they had to prove their mettle in the trials.
In a surprising turn of events, the relatively inexperienced Sandeep Singh outperformed Rudranksh Patil, the 2022 world champion who had secured India's quota in the 10m air rifle event. Patil wrote to NRAI proposing his selection in the team despite finishing behind Sandeep in the trials but the federation stuck to its guns. The Indian shooting team has been preparing for the Olympics away from the distractions of Paris, which may prove advantageous during the competition.
With the exception of Manu Bhaker , Aishwary Pratap Sing.