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Divyansh Singh Panwar, 18, projected to be on the podium at Tokyo 2020 in event previously graced by stalwarts like Soma Dutta, Anjali Vedpathak Bhagwat, Suma Shirur and Olympic medalists Abhinav Bindra and Gagan Narang
August 11 2008 is one of the most important dates in Indian sporting history, just like June 25 1983, September 24 2007 or April 2 2011. Indian sports fans need no reminders about the significance of the latter dates. They correspond to India's World Cup victories.
What happened on August 11, then? Abhinav Bindra.
While sports lovers were introduced to a pimply, bespectacled 15-year-old Abhinav at the 1998 Commonwealth Games in Kuala Lumpur, the nation at large woke up to the champion only after he won India’s first ever individual Olympic gold at Beijing.
For the fortunate few who watched Abhinav in action, memories are etched as vividly in their minds as Sachin Tendulkar’s Desert Storm, especially in terms of the emotional and spiritual experience the golden moment represented.
Unfortunately, it was a weekday. Not many students or working professionals managed to witness it live, as the action started early at 9:30 am. However, Divyansh Singh Panwar is statistically projected to emulate Abhinav's feat on July 25 at 12 noon. Luckily, it's a Sunday.
As a kid, Divyansh loved video games. His father, Dr. Ashok Panwar, enrolled him at the Jangpura Shooting Range in their hometown Jaipur to curb his growing addiction at the age of 12.
In four years, the PUBG aficionado Divyansh, who had by then swept the national junior circuit, entered the senior national team. In his second senior international event at the 2019 ISSF World Cup in Beijing, Divyansh, 16, earned India an Olympic quota. He finished 2019 strong, dominating the top 15 shooters of the year to clinch gold at the 2019 World Cup Finals at Putian.
EVENT DETAILS
47 shooters representing 33 nations will shoot for the blue riband event in men’s rifle shooting on July 25. Indian Air Force sergeant and Asian Games silver medalist Deepak Kumar and reigning World Cup Final champion Divyansh Panwar will be in action from 9.30 a.m.
In the qualification round, the shooters need to fire 60 shots at a distance of 10m. The top eight qualify for the finals, scheduled for 12 noon. A maximum of 24 shots are fired in the finals.
FINALIST PROJECTIONS
Taking into account various factors such as career averages, weighted averages, performance at major events, high scores, recent form and pedigree, the eight projected finalists are:
1. Sheng Lihao (CHN)
2. Yang Haoran (CHN)
3. Sergey Kamenskiy (RUS)
4. Sergey Richter (ISR)
5. Nam Taeyun (KOR)
6. Istvan Peni (HUN)
7. Divyansh Singh Panwar (IND)
8. Henrik Larsen (NOR)
The following illustration details their form and those of the other top contenders.
NOC :-- National Olympic Committee
ABS :-- Absolute Average
WGT:-- Weighted Average
BRE:-- Major Average
HS:-- High Score
BRF:-- Major Finals
21P:-- Podiums in 2021 season)
Noticeably, 16-year-old Chinese wunderkind Sheng Lihao, who won the Chinese trials ahead of the reigning Asian champion, is projected to make the Olympic finals in his international debut. He qualified by shooting an impressive 630.5 in his only MQS (Minimum Qualification Score) start.
PODIUM PROJECTIONS
Based on international finals performances over the past five years from the projected finalists, we arrive at the following:--
1. ALL EVENTS
Istvan Peni of Hungary, the reigning world number 1, and Divyansh lead the field in terms of both averages and podium conversions. Divyansh has had only one final in his career without a medal and that was on his junior international debut as a 15-year-old.
2. MAJOR FINALS
Divyansh has a 100% podium conversion ratio and his average rises from 10.3795 to 10.3979 per shot, while considering only blue riband events.
On the other hand, World Number 1 Istvan Peni’s average tapers down from 10.4687 to 10.3979, a significant divergence of 1.7 over 24 shots.
This difference of a mere 0.0022 leaves the duo tied after 24 shots at 249.6, like Abhinav was five years ago for the Bronze.
Divyansh is known for his calm confidence and laidback nature, both assets in a shoot-off. With his proven ability to rise to the occasion, can he offer the perfect tribute to his idol Abhinav Bindra by winning his shoot-off?
Math says yes. Set your calendar for 25th July 2021.
GOLD FOR DIVYANSH
