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Divyansh Singh Panwar and Deepak Kumar were unable to enter the final of the men's 10m air rifle event at the 2021 Olympics. Deepak Kumar aggregated 624.7 points while Divyansh Singh Panwar registered 622.8 points, both falling short of the cut-off mark of 629.2 points for the eight-shooter final.
The 33-year old Deepak Kumar ended up in 26th spot while the 18-year Divyansh Singh Panwar was placed 32nd post the qualification round. Deepak's six series breakdown is 102.9, 103.8, 103.7, 105.2, 103.8, 105.3. Divyansh's scoresheet read 102.7, 103.7, 103.6, 104.6, 104.6, 103.6.
Here are 3 takeaways from the qualification event:
#1 Well begun is half-done!
Divyansh’s first series only yielded 102.7 points. Elite shooters aim to register more than 105 points in each of the six series. The under-average start hampered the shooter's momentum and resulted in a catch-up game towards the end.
Deepak was slow to get off the blocks as well. He did marginally better than Divyansh’s first series - 102.9. Had they got a better start, their momentum would have taken over.
#2 Rankings don’t guarantee results - The case of Divyansh Singh Panwar and Elavenil Valarivan
In the women’s 10m air rifle earlier, Elavenil Valarivan couldn’t get past the qualification stage either. This is the third instance of the year where she wasn't in the top-8 bracket after the qualifying round, despite being World No.1 in this discipline.
Likewise, the World No.2 Divyansh was out of form at the ISSF World Cup in Osijek, Croatia. He didn’t feature in the final round of that tournament either.
In an unpredictable sport like shooting, rankings sometimes conceal the present form. All that matters is the shooter's performance on a given day!
#3 Mixed events are a better possibility for Olympic medal
Indian rifle shooters will have to shrug-off their disappointment and focus on the remaining events. The next task for Divyansh Singh Panwar and Deepak Kumar is the mixed rifle event on July 27. Divyansh will pair up with Elavenil while Deepak and Anjum Moudgil will partner with each other. Given India’s consistent dominance in this discipline, these rifle shooters are expected to put up a better show!
