A record number of shooters (15) will participate in the Tokyo Olympics. The team is carrying the biggest hopes for medals. In addition to it, they must be looking to shrug off the disappointment of Rio. Let’s have a look at the Indian contingent for rifle and skeet events.
Elavenil Valarivan
Apurvi Chandela
Anjum Moudgi
On the first day of the event, Elavenil and Apurvi Chandela will compete against the best in the world in 10 meters air rifle. Valarivan is high in confidence and is currently world number one. Apurvi is quiet for some time. Mary Carolynn Tucker of the US can upset the party. She is only 19 and won gold in this year’s Delhi World Cup. We expect that the Indian flag will go up in the very first event of this mega competition for the finest possible opening. In a similar contest for men, Divyansh Singh Panwar will face tough completion from world number one Peni Istvan of Hungary. Warding off the challenge from the Croatian pair of Petar Gorsa and Miran Maricic will be crucial for the 22-year-old shooter of Rajsthan. Lucas Kozeniesky of the US is another exciting competitor who clinched Gold at WC 2021 in Delhi.
For the first time, a mix event for a 10m air rifle is on the Olympic roster. Both the shooters are in pole position to blaze rifles. The nation is expecting that the talented duo of Elavenil-Divyansh will extend their dominance for Gold. The other pair in the completion is Deepak Kumar and Anjum Moudgil. 33-years-old Air Force NCO will also participate in his first Olympics like her partner. We expect that they will rise to the occasion and produce their best.
Twenty-year-old Aishwary Tomar will be seen competing in the 50m rifle 3 positions at Tokyo. Madhya Pradesh’s dazzling shooter is currently ranked number 2 in Tokyo 2020 Rankings and number 1 in the 2021 World Rankings. With the kind of form he was in during the ISSF World Cup in New Delhi, a medal at Tokyo might not be a tough job to accomplish. Sanjeev Rajput is slightly behind at number 6 in rankings. A 40-year-old Army man from Yamunanagar will surely shoot for glory. Again, handling Peni Istvan (Hungary) and Petar Gorsa-Miran Maricic (CRO) is important.
Anjum Moudgil and Tejaswini Sawant are the shooters in a similar event for women. Tejaswani has her best behind her. Her last major success came at CWG 2018. The 40-year-old Kolhapur woman has to rise meteorically to display her lost glory. Anjum will make her maiden appearance in Olympics. Still, the Chandigarh girl’s cabinet is in search of gold from an elite tournament.
Angadvir Singh Bajwa and Mairaj Ahmad Khan are Indian competitors in the Skeet. Both have to face the daunting task of qualifying among the best on 25 July. If they survive the test then who knows they can leapfrog for an upset the next day.
Shooting is a game of very fine margins. Nerves of steel, coolness like a monk, focus on the target, etc, are some of the most important demands of this fancy sport. Two-three medals from rifle and skeet is a realistic hope.