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 Singh Tomar, Anjum Moudgil and Elavenil Valarivan, the majority of the team will be making their debut on the grandest stage in sports. India will have athletes competing in all 15 shooting events. In the Olympics, not only is peak performance on the day crucial, but luck also plays a significant role.
The 22-year-old Bhaker has won numerous medals in international competitions but experienced misfortune at the Tokyo Games when her weapon malfunctioned during the 10m air pistol qualification, a setback from which she was unable to recover. She will be participating in three events: 10m air pistol, 25m pistol and 10m air pistol mixed team. India's primary rival will be China, who are also sending 21 shooters across various disciplines.
Another female shooter to keep an eye on is Sift Kaur Samra , who clinched the gold medal in the 50m rifle three positions event at the Asian Games. Moudgil, one of the team's veterans, is making a return and will compete alongside Sift in the women's 50m rifle three positions. Rhythm Sangwan will be participating in two events: the women's 10m air pistol alongside Bhaker and the 10m air air pistol mixed team.
"The preparation has been going good. The range is beautiful. I was a little upset staying away from main village in Paris.
It is not as I expected but I am here for the competition and win and not pass any comments on the Games Village. Olympics is the biggest stage out here," said Sangwan. Tomar, a gold medalist from the 2023 World Championships, is the sole male participant with prior Olympic experience.
He will compete in the men's 50m rifle three positions event, joined by teammate Swapnil Kusale. Several male shooters, although new to the Olympics, bring valuable international experience to the team. This group includes Anish Bhanwala, Sarabjot Singh , Arjun Babuta, Arjun Singh Cheema and Vijayveer Singh.
Gagan Narang, an Olympic bronze medalist from 2012 who is serving as India's Chef de Mission, expresses confidence in the shooting team's ability to secure medals and break the nation's dry spell at this year's Games. “My first Olympic experience was in 2004 and I remember at that time we were not as confident as we are today. There is genuine belief that we are at par with the best in the world,” said Narang.
Men's 10m air rifle: Sandeep Singh, Arjun Babuta Women's 10m air rifle: Elavenil Valarivan, Ramita Jindal Women's 50m rifle 3 positions: Sift Kaur Samra, Anjum Moudgil Men's 50m rifle 3 positions: Aishwary Pratap Singh Tomar, Swapnil Kusale 10m air rifle mixed team: Sandeep Singh/Elavenil Valarivan, Arjun Babuta/Ramita Jindal Men's 10m air pistol: Sarabjot Singh, Arjun Cheema Women's 10m air pistol: Manu Bhaker, Rhythm Sangwan Men's 25m rapid fire pistol: Anish Bhanwala, Vijayveer Sidhu Women's 25m pistol: Manu Bhaker, Esha Singh 10m air pistol mixed team: Sarabjot Singh/Manu Bhaker, Arjun Singh Cheema/Rhythm Sangwan Men's trap: Prithviraj Tondaiman Women's trap: Rajeshwari Kumari, Shreyasi Singh Men's skeet: Anantjeet Singh Naruka Women's skeet: Maheshwari Chauhan, Raiza Dhillon Skeet mixed team: Anantjeet Singh Naruka/Maheshwari Chauhan..
