CHENNAI: Indian shooting is burning bright at the moment. Skeet shooter Maheshwari Chauhan became the latest to come under the spotlight with a quota-winning silver medal in the ISSF Final Olympic Qualification Championship in Doha on Sunday.
Like a woman possessed, she was in her element from the word go in the event, which was (as the name suggests) the final opportunity for the shooters to fetch the all-important quota.
The skeet shooter didn't just get the quota, she aced it and narrowly missed out on a gold medal after falling short in the shoot-off. Eventual gold medalist Francisca Crovetto Chadid of Chile and the Indian were tied at 54 after a 60-shot final, which led to the shoot-off (Chadid edged Maheshwari 4-3).
The shooter from Rajasthan had come agonisingly close to qualifying for the Olympics in the Asian Shotgun Championships earlier this year and the day's outcome is a timely boost.
"I have been working towards it (on her shooting) for too long. For the last couple of years, I have been dedicated towards the sport. I missed out in Kuwait by a couple of points. So it was all the more important for me to stay calm and try to do my best and enjoy this competition because this was the last opportunity for us. I'm so happy that I have been able to do something for my country and myself," Maheshwari told this daily from Doha.
Having secured her first target, she was looking to put the icing on the cake. "I was really nervous when the shoot-off started for the gold and that cost me a little bit, but I'm hoping that this is the start of many," she added, while also taking out the time to thank her parents, NRAI and everyone who has supported her over the years.
With Maheshwari's effort, India now boasts an impressive total of 21 quotas in the sport. Moreover, the country will have women's representation in the skeet discipline for the first time in the Olympics. Raiza Dhillon is another woman shooter, who has secured a quota in this particular event.
Maheshwari is naturally stoked to be part of history.
"This is a big win for India, as this is the first time women shooters from skeet will be participating in the Olympics. I'm proud of the fact that I'll get to be part of it."
This quota is also bound to add to her belief. Before the finals, she was near-flawless in the qualification stage and had finished 1 hit behind the topper to qualify in fourth spot. It's no surprise that this will go down as her best individual performance in her career, which began in 2013.
"It was my best ever effort. To compete with high-level athletes and finish on such a strong note. I'm so proud of the way I shot during the qualification stage and the finals as well," she assessed.
Maheshwari will be keen on building on this high-level effort and replicating this performance in Paris.