NEW DELHI: The last two Olympics were a forgettable experience for Indian shooters. Having entered the marquee event with tall aspirations, the shooters had drawn blanks. There were question marks if they could recover in time for their next opportunity. They have bounced back in an emphatic manner and now will be having another shot at the Olympics with at least 19 (a record for India) participants.
Skeet shooters Anant Jeet Singh Naruka and Raiza Dhillon were the latest two to add to India's quota tally. Competing in the ongoing Asia Olympic Qualification Shotgun event in Kuwait City, the duo gunned down silver medals, earning Olympic quotas for India in the process. It also means India will be fielding two or more skeet shooters for the first time in Olympics.
"This is unprecedented. Finally, we now have quotas in skeet discipline. This is mainly down to the shooters who had been doing well. The coaches' value addition has also helped them,'' Kanwar Sultan Singh, NRAI secretary general, told this daily.
Anant Jeet was the second-best qualifier after a shoot-off between him and Lee Meng Yuan of Chinese Taipei. In the six-man final, he was close to perfection and was in the running for gold along with Lee yet again. However, Lee finished off strongly to claim the top prize.
Raiza, on the other hand, had barely managed to make the cut during the qualification stage. In the final, which also featured another Indian in the form of Maheshwari Chauhan, Raiza looked more assured and finished with a well-deserved silver around her neck. Maheshwari missed out on the quota as she finished with a bronze medal.
India now have four quotas in shotgun events so far and have an opportunity to add more to the tally in the final Olympic qualification event, scheduled to be held later.
"The shooters of all disciplines have been incredible. Having won a record 19 quotas, we'll continue to work on them and ensure that they remain consistent," Singh added.