Bhowneesh Mendiratta claims Paris Olympics quota spot in men’s trap event with impressive performance in ISSF Shotgun World Championship

Trap shooter Bhowneesh Mendiratta became the first Indian to earn a 2024 Paris Olympics quota on Wednesday. The promising 23-year-old shooter from Haryana shot 121/125 in the qualification round of the International Shooting Sports Federation (ISSF) Shotgun World Championship, being held in Osijek, Croatia.

It was a memorable debut for Bhowneesh Mendiratta at the senior world shooting championship. He maintained his calm in the final match to finish fourth overall. The top eight made the cut for the final.

No success for Indian shooters apart from Bhowneesh Mendiratta

India’s Prithviraj Tondaiman was 22nd in the field with a total of 119 out of 125. US seasoned shotgun shooter Derrick Scott Mein won gold while Nathan Hales of Great Britain took silver. Kun-Pi Yang of Chinese Taipei won bronze.

In the women’s group, none of the Indian shooters were able to make the cut for the final. With a score of 111/125, Neeru finished 29th, while Shreyasi Singh shot 110 to finish 35.

The Olympic quota is for the country and not for individual shooters. As per the National Rifle Association of India (NRAI) Olympic Games policy, the quota winner will get additional points, but will have to sustain his performance in the build up to the Paris Olympic Games.

Nailing the Olympic quota place in his maiden World Shooting Championships speaks volumes of Bhowneesh Mendiratta’s mental and physical capabilities.

After the 2016 Rio Olympic Games, none of the elite Indian trap shooters could win a quota place for the 2020 Tokyo Olympic Games. Only two skeet shooters, Angad Vir Singh Bajwa and Mairaj Ahmad Khan won Tokyo Olympic Games quota place in men’s skeet event. However, both Bajwa and Khan failed to impress in Japan.

With Mendiratta in the mix for the Paris Olympics, India seems to be making progress in trap shooting as well. This bodes well moving ahead towards the next Summer Games.