At the Asian Shooting Championship 2023 held in Changwon, Republic of Korea, Indian shooters Arjun Babuta and Tilottama Sen delivered sensational performances as they claimed silver medals in the men’s and women’s 10m air rifle competitions, respectively. In addition, they earned two additional Olympic quotas for India for the Paris 2024 Games.
With this achievement, India’s tally in shooting quotas for the Paris Olympics 2024 reaches ten which includes the maximum two spots for each gender in the 10m air rifle category. However, this isn’t the first quota for India in these events. Earlier, rifle shooters Rudrankksh Patil and Mehuli Ghosh had accomplished this feat.
The Asian Shooting Championships 2023 is serving as a crucial platform that grants 24 Olympic quotas across 12 shooting events. The highest-ranked performers, ensuring only one quota per country in each event, earn the coveted quotas for their nation. However, an Olympic quota doesn’t guarantee an athlete’s ticket to the Paris Olympics 2024. The decision lies with the National Olympic Committees (NOCs), who select athletes to represent their country in the global arena.
How did the Indian men’s 10m air rifle athletes perform?
Arjun Babuta showcased his prowess by topping the qualification round with a score of 633.4. Divyansh Singh Panwar wasn’t far behind, who finished third, with a total of 632.3 points. The finals witnessed an intense competition. Arjun Babuta‘s final score of 251.2 fetched him the silver medal, just behind China’s shooting sensation and Tokyo 2020 silver medalist, Sheng Lihao, who clinched the gold with a score of 252.1.
Meanwhile, Japan’s Naoya Okada collected the bronze medal, while Divyansh Singh Panwar came in fourth position. When it came to team events at the Asian Shooting Championship 2023, the Indian male trio of Babuta, Panwar, and Hriday Hazarika claimed gold in the men’s 10m air rifle category, surpassing China.
How did the Indian women’s 10m air rifle athletes perform?
At just the age of 15, Tilottama Sen is creating headlines in the international arena with her performance. With a score of 630.5 in the qualification round, she bagged the silver medal in the finals. The gold medal went to South Korea’s Eunji Kwon by a whisker, while the bronze was claimed by another Indian, Ramita Jindal.
It is important to note that both Elavenil Valarivan and Nancy in the same event from the Indian contingent gave impressive performances, although they were competing for ranking points only. In the women’s category, the trio of Tilottama, Ramita, and Shriyanka Sadangi won the bronze medal.
Gold medal in the mixed team skeet event
Asian Games 2022 silver medalist Anant Jeet Singh Naruka and Darshna Rathore claimed the gold medal in the mixed team skeet event as they got the better of Kuwait in the finals by 40-37. However, none of the skeet shooters could grab the Olympic quota for the Paris Olympics 2024.
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