CHENNAI: Not so long back, there were murmurs about a potential surprise or two in regards to the Indian shooting team for the upcoming Paris Olympics. But the the National Rifle Association of India (NRAI), the governing body of Olympic shooting in the country, has stuck to its guns and picked a team based on the ranking chart after the Olympic Selection Trials (OST).
All the top-two finishers in each category (rifle/pistol) from the four selection trials that were conducted at two venues (Delhi and Bhopal) have found a spot in the Olympic team, which was officially announced on Tuesday.
Manu Bhaker, who was one of the standouts during the OST, is the lone shooter who'll be taking part in two categories -- women's 10m air pistol and women's 25m pistol.
Just a week or so back there were whispers about a change or two, most notably about rifle shooter Sandeep Singh's inclusion. Sandeep had topped the OST causing a genuine headache for the NRAI think-tank (coaches and other selection committee members) as his inclusion would have meant shooters like Rudrankksh B Patil, who was part of the Tokyo Olympics, was going to miss out.
Talking to The New Indian Express, one of the key members in the NRAI think-tank had said they'd most likely stick with the Olympic policy, a policy which states that the top-two finishers from OST would be included. "Such decisions are always difficult but the writing on the wall is the policy (selection). We have to stick to the policy first," the NRAI official had said last month.
True to the official's words, Sandeep has found a place in the team in the men's 10m air rifle. Arjun Babuta is the second shooter in the same category.
"After deliberating at length, we feel we have selected the best team on current form as per merit and sticking to the policy. We are confident that everything has been put in place for the team to deliver," Kalikesh Narayan Singh Deo, NRAI senior vice president, stated in a release.
The 15-member rifle and pistol team, which is currently part of a camp in Volmerange-les-Mines (France), also includes Olympians like Anjum Moudgil, Elavenil Valarivan and Aishwary Pratap Singh Tomar.
Focus shifts to shotgun
The shotgun shooters are currently part of the ongoing Lonato World Cup. And the NRAI said that the team for Paris will be announced soon after that. So all eyes will be on shotgun shooters from the country as their performance could determine where the unused quota is allotted. As pistol shooter Manu will be taking part in two events, India have the right to allot one of the quotas to other events as per ISSF rules. The quota could be used either for trap events (men or women) or men's skeet events as India have one quota each in those events. The shooters will also have to bring their A-game as it's a close affair. Women's skeet, an event where India have two quotas, for instance has at least three candidates in the race (as per the tentative Olympic ranking that was published on March 26). Quota winner Bhowneesh Mendiratta (men's trap, which has just one quota) is ranked third as per that ranking. So it could be an interesting race to the finish line.
The team
Rifle
Men: 10m air rifle: Sandeep Singh, Arjun Babuta. 50m rifle 3p: Aishwary Pratap Singh Tomar, Swapnil Kusale. Women: 10m air rifle: Elavenil Valarivan, Ramita. 50m rifle 3p: Sift Kaur Samra, Anjum Moudgil.
Pistol
Men: 10m air pistol: Sarabjot Singh, Arjun Cheema. 25m rapid fire: Anish Bhanwala, Vijayveer Sidhu. Women: 10m air pistol: Manu Bhaker, Rhythm Sangwan. 25m: Manu Bhaker, Esha Singh.