Anish Bhanwala secures India's 12th shooting Olympic berth 

Anish Bhanwala booked a spot at the Paris Olympics in the 25m rapid fire pistol shooting event
Anish Bhanwala booked a spot at the Paris Olympics in the 25m rapid fire pistol shooting event

Anish Bhanwala has secured India's first Olympic quota in the Men's 25m Rapid Fire Pistol shooting event. He is the 12th Indian shooter to qualify for the Paris Olympics.

To book his berth at the 2024 Games, Anish scored 588 out of a possible 600 in the qualification round of the Asian Shooting Championships that are currently taking place in Changwon, South Korea. This made him eligible for a spot in Paris because all other shooters had either already qualified or were participating in Ranking Points Only (RPO).

After displaying his amazing precision in the qualifying rounds, Anish Bhanwala went on to win the bronze in the Men's 25m Rapid Fire Pistol shooting event of the Asian Shooting Championships.

In the finals, he scored a 28/35 to finish behind Japanese shooter Dai Yoshioka who took silver with a 33/40. Meanwhile, South Korea's Lee Gunhyeok clinched gold with 34/440.


Indian shooters who have qualified for Paris other than Anish Bhanwala

Apart from Anish Bhanwala, Manu Bhaker, Tilottama Sen, and Arjun Babuta also qualified for the Paris Olympics after strong performances at the Asian Shooting Championships.

Manu finished fifth in the Women's 25m Pistol shooting event, but secured a quota for Paris given that none of the four players ahead of her were eligible.

Tilottama Sen and Arjun Babuta both claimed a silver in the 10m Air Rifle event to qualify for Paris.

Other than Bhanwala, Bhaker, Sen, and Babuta, eight other Indians have qualified for the 2024 Games. Rudrankksh Patil and Mehuli Ghosh qualified for the 10m Air Rifle event, while Sift Kaur Samra, Swapnil Kusale, and Akhil Sheoran booked a spot in the 50m rifle 3 positions.

Rajeshwari Kumari and Bhowneesh Mendiratta have made the cut in the men's and women's trap events, while Sarabjot Singh remains the sole Indian to have qualified for the Men’s 10m Air Pistol.

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