Additionally, a 35-member team has been selected for the Asian Championships to be held in Changwon, South Korea, from October 22 to November 2.
This competition holds great significance as it offers a chance to secure quota places for the Paris Olympics. In total, there are 24 Paris Olympics quota places up for grabs, with two available in each of the 12 individual Olympic events encompassing the disciplines of rifle, pistol, and shotgun.
India will be competing in all 16 events at the Asian Championships, including four mixed team events. In addition to these participants, four more shooters – Rudranksh Patil, Mehuli Ghosh, Sift Kaur Samraand Rajeshwari Kumari – will be representing India solely for ranking points, as they have already secured Paris quotas and are ineligible to win additional quotas.
The shooting squad has so far won seven quota places for the Paris Games and will look to pick up their first quotas in pistol and skeet events at the Asian Championships, besides filling their remaining berths in the rifle and trap disciplines.
For the likes of Manu Bhaker, Divyansh Singh Panwar, Aishwary Pratap Singh Tomar, Akhil Sheoran, Rhythm SangwanEsha Singh, Adarsh Singh, Kynan Chenai, Ganemat Sekhon to name a few, the tournament in Changwon will be another opportunity to secure quotas for next summer’s Paris Games after an unsuccessful outing in the recently-concluded World Championships in Baku, Azerbaijan.
Overall, India have so far won seven Paris quota places. Bhowneesh Mendiratta (men’s trap), Rudrankksh Balasaheb Patil (men’s 10m air rifle) and Swapnil Kusale (men’s 50m rifle 3 positions) are the other three Indians to have secured the 2024 Olympic quota places at last year’s ISSF World Championship.
(With PTI inputs)
