Shooting, Olympics 2024: Manu Bhaker and Co hope to bury Tokyo ghosts in Paris

As we count down to the 2024 Olympic Games, the top competitors will be expected to continue to perform at the highest level, while others will hope to punch above their weight and reach for a spot on the podium. In the build up to the mega event in Paris, Scroll looks at the eight different Olympic disciplines where Indians have returned with a medal.

Shooting has a rather varied legacy for India at the Olympic Games.

When Abhinav Bindra won the country’s first-ever individual Olympic gold medal, in the men’s 10m Air rifle event at Beijing 2008, it was a landmark moment for Indian sports, and for Indian shooting in particular.

Academies sprung up all over the country in the hopes of moulding and training the next Bindra. The joy doubled when Gagan Narang (bronze, 10m air rifle) and Vijay Kumar (silver, men’s 25m rapid fire pistol) added two more medals to shooting’s tally at the 2012 Olympics in London. It gave hope that the momentum would continue.

But it wasn’t a pretty outing at Rio 2016 or Tokyo 2020 as the Indian shooters failed to win a medal in both those editions, with only two shooters reaching the final in Rio and just one making it to the top 8 in Tokyo.

When the 21-member Indian contingent takes stage at the Chateauroux Shooting Centre in Paris on July 27, there will be two main goals for the team – burying the ghosts of a disastrous Tokyo 2020 outing, and winning yet another spot on the podium.

Led by Manu Bhaker who will make her second appearance at the Olympics in Paris, the 21-member Indian contingent, the largest the country has fielded at an edition, will hope to boost the country’s medal tally as they compete in 15 events across the rifle, pistol and shotgun categories.

The biggest hurdle that the shooting contingent will have to overcome is the below-average performance from three years ago. A team of 15 shooters were sent to Tokyo and only Saurabh Choudhary, in the men’s 10m air pistol, made it to the final (he eventually finished seventh).

While Rio 2016 also didn’t see any Indian shooter return with a medal, Bindra finished an agonising fourth in his event, while Jitu Rai finished eighth out of eight shooters in the men’s 10m air pistol final.

The dissection that followed to figure out the reasons behind the Indian shooting team’s lacklustre performance in Tokyo included the effect of the Covid-19 pandemic on training, along with a few inopportune moments where weapons malfunctioning led to below-par results, in the case of Bhaker in Tokyo.

The impact of the pandemic on the mindset of the shooters was highlighted by Anjum Moudgil, who will compete in the women’s 50m rifle 3-positions event with Sift Kaur Samra.

But Moudgil, who along with Bhaker, Elavenil Valarivan and Aishwary Singh Pratap Tomar is among the four shooters competing in their second Olympics, refused to let the stain of Tokyo hang over the contingent.

“We’ve not really discussed the baggage from Tokyo with the youngsters,” said the 30-year-old Moudgil in a press interaction. “We’ve been focusing on maintaining proper recovery and training ahead of the Games.”

But for Paris, despite the shorter three-year turnaround period, what works in favour of the Indian shooters is their performance at the delayed Asian Games in Hangzhou.

Learnings from Hangzhou

The success at the Asian Games, however, should not be read into too much.

The 33-member Indian team in Hangzhou won 22 medals, that included seven gold, nine silver and six bronze, setting several records in the process. But eleven of these medals came in events that will not feature at the Olympics. This takes the shine off the performance showcased by the Indian shooters.

Furthermore, not all of the Asian Games medallists feature in the Olympics contingent. For example, Palak Gulia, who won gold in the women’s 10m pistol event, failed to make the Olympic squad after a lackluster showing in the national trials. Crucially, Gulia had won the Olympic quota in the event, which will feature Bhaker and Rhythm Sangwan.

Additionally, the presence of stronger opponents like the United States, much like during the World Championships, may impact how the Indian shooters stack up in Paris.

Gruelling trials

Moudgil spoke about the impact of the selection trials and how rigorous they were. Four trials were organised within the space of a month, two each in New Delhi and Bhopal. Only the top two shooters were granted the quota.

“The competition in India is high and that was experienced during the trials,” said Moudgil. “The pressure we all faced during the trials will surely help us. In no other competition have I faced such grueling conditions to perform and do my best.”

As has been the case ahead of every Olympic edition, because of the rule that awards the quota to the country rather than an individual athlete, there is usually some discontent as national federations employ a selection process to decide to will utilise the Olympic berth.

The National Rifle Association of India, the governing body of the sport in the country, implemented a strict selection policy after the debacle of Tokyo. However, there were surprising misses like World Championship medallist Ghosh, former men’s 10m air rifle world champion Rudrankksh Patil, and Akhil Sheoran who failed to finish in the top two of their respective events at the trials.

Post the trials though, there was a surprise in store for Shreyasi Singh who earned the chance to compete in the women’s trap event after the NRAI requested for a quota swap, due to Bhaker competing in two separate events.

What could factor into the performance of the Indian shooting contingent is the blend of youngsters and veterans for Paris. While Moudgil along with Bhaker, Tomar and Valarivan are experienced Olympians, the likes of teenager Esha Singh and Samra have proven themselves over the course of the past year.

Medal contenders

Bhaker is the leading contender for a medal from the 21-member contingent with the 22-year-old being the only Indian shooter competing in multiple events – women’s 10m air pistol, women’s 25m pistol, and 10m air pistol mixed team along with Sarabjot Singh.

The former world No 1 will also want to banish her personal ghosts after missing out on a medal in Tokyo despite being the highest ranked shooter ahead of the 2020 Olympics.

Samra, who broke the world record for most points scored in the women’s 50m rifle 3-positions event in 2023, is another possible contender. The 22-year-old shooter won gold at the 2022 Asian Games and goes into the Paris Games with a bronze medal at the Munich World Cup.

Sangwan, another world record breaker in the women’s 10m air pistol event, has made an incredible transition from the junior to senior category when she won two gold medals at the 2022 ISSF World Cup in Cairo. The 20-year-old from Haryana will also be competing in the 10m air pistol mixed team event with Arjun Singh Cheema.

Also read: Shooting, Olympics 2024: Arjun Singh Cheema focused on trusting the process in his Games debut

Among the male shooters, Tomar presents the best chance for a medal finish in the men’s 50m 3-Positions air rifle event.

The shooting events at the 2024 Paris Olympics will be held from July 27 to August 5.

Indian contingent

Rifle

10m air rifle (men): Sandeep Singh and Arjun Babuta

10m air rifle (women): Elavenil Valarivan and Ramita Jindal

50m rifle 3-positions (men): Aishwary Pratap Singh Tomar and Swapnil Kusale

50m rifle 3-positions (women): Sift Kaur Samra and Anjum Moudgil

10m air rifle mixed team: Sandeep Singh/Elavenil Valarivan and Arjun Babuta/Ramita Jindal

Pistol

10m air pistol (men): Sarabjot Singh and Arjun Singh Cheema

10m air pistol (women): Manu Bhaker and Rhythm Sangwan

25m rapid fire (men): Anish Bhanwala and Vijayveer Sidhu

25m pistol (women): Manu Bhaker and Esha Singh

10m air pistol mixed team: Sarabjot Singh/Manu Bhaker and Arjun Singh Cheema/Rhythm Sangwan

Shotgun

Trap (men): Prithviraj Tondaiman

Trap (women): Rajeshwari Kumari and Shreyasi Singh

Skeet (men): Anantjeet Singh Naruka

Skeet (women): Maheshwari Chauhan and Raiza Dhillon

Skeet mixed team: Anantjeet Singh Naruka and Maheshwari Chauhan