After the twin disappointments of Rio de Janeiro and Tokyo, Paris is turning out to be a much-needed shot in the arm for sport shooting in India. The contingent promised a lot for the 2016 and 2021 Games, but returned empty-handed. This time, in the quaint little town of Chateauroux some 250 km from Paris, Manu Bhaker, one of those vilified after the Tokyo Games, ended India’s 12-year medal drought in the sport at the Olympics.
Her bronze in the women’s 10 m air pistol event came as a balm. It’s not just Manu, but the entire shooting contingent seems to have learned from earlier missteps and upped its game. Bhaker is already in another final—the mixed 10 m air pistol event. Ramita Jindal and Arjun Babuta too advanced to the finals of their individual events on Monday, with Arjun finishing just outside the medals’ podium. Manu will be the most decorated female Indian athlete at the Olympics if she manages to win another medal—in the mixed event where she and Sarabjot Singh would be shooting for bronze.
With more than half the events to go, this is the kind of performance the shooters needed. In such a precision sport—where a decimal point could be the difference between a podium place or watching on from the sidelines—every little bit helps. And that includes watching your colleagues, friends and compatriots find success in the shooting range. This sort of start is a far cry from what transpired at the previous two Games, when shooters were not even close to making it to the finals.
From a wider point of view, it’s important for India to do well in shooting if the nation wants to get into double-digits on the medals tally. It’s the one multiple-medal sport where they have world-class talent across categories. Considering that the National Rifle Association of India also came in for significant criticism after the last two Games, some credit must go to them as they have seemingly corrected course, at least for these Games. With other contenders yet to shoot, including Sift Kaur Samra, shooting may again be in the news for the right reasons. The tone is set and it’s up to the others to follow. Indian athletes have had a great start in their quest to return with the best ever Olympic medal haul.