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Shooting has been India’s strong suit in the past few editions of the Olympics and it’s not going to be an exception this time either. A total of 15 Indian shooters have qualified for the 2021 Tokyo Olympics.
Rajyavardhan Singh Rathod claimed India’s first-ever medal in shooting, having won silver in the Double Trap event at the 2004 Athens Olympics. While that was a landmark achievement in itself, it also set the tone for future generations.
Abhinav Bindra bettered it with a first-place finish in the Men’s 10m Air Pistol event at the 2008 Beijing Olympics. The historic feat marked India’s first individual gold medal win in the quadrennial spectacle.
It was a double delight at the 2012 London Olympics, with veteran shooter Gagan Narang claiming a bronze medal in the 10m Air Rifle event, while Vijay Kumar secured a silver medal finish in the 25m Rapid Fire Pistol event.
However, the shooters came back empty handed from the 2016 Rio Olympics.
The 2021 Tokyo Olympics is expected to be India’s best outing at the quadrennial event. Having performed exceedingly well at the 2021 ISSF World Cup, Indian shooters have raised hopes ahead of the postponed Games, which will begin on July 23.
Also Read: From Manu Bhaker to Saurabh Chaudhary, a look at India's best medal hopes in shooting
Despite several roadblocks posed by the current pandemic situation, the Indian shooters are training in full force, with less than 50 days left for the mega-event to kick-start. While the rifle and pistol shooters have shifted their training base to Croatia, the skeet shooters are training with their respective coaches in Italy.
The Indian contingent will participate in the upcoming ISSF World Cup, in Osijek from June 22 – July 3, as part of their last lap of preparations ahead of the 2021 Tokyo Olympics.
Let's have a look at the 15 shooters to have qualified for the 2021 Tokyo Olympics along with their rankings:
Men’s
Saurabh Chaudhary
Events - 10m Men’s Air Pistol, Individual and Mixed Team
World Ranking: 2
Events - 10m Men’s Air Pistol, Individual and Mixed Team
World Ranking: 1
Deepak Kumar
Events - 10m Men’s Air Rifle, Individual and Mixed Team
World Ranking: 11
Divyansh Singh Panwar
Events - 10m Men’s Air Rifle, Individual and Mixed Team
World Ranking: 2
Sanjeev Rajput
Event - 50m Men’s Rifle 3 Position, Individual
World Ranking: 6
Aishwary Pratap Singh Tomar
Event - 50m Men’s Rifle 3 Position, Individual
World Ranking: 2
Angad Veer Singh Bajwa
Event - Men’s Skeet, Individual
World Ranking: 62
Mairaj Ahmad Khan
Event - Men’s Skeet Individual
World Ranking: 24
Women’s
Events - 10m Women’s Air Pistol, Individual and 25m Pistol Women, Individual and Mixed Team
World Ranking: 2
Yashaswini Singh Deswal
Events - 10m Women’s Air Pistol, Individual and Mixed Team
World Ranking: 1
Apurvi Chandela
Event - 10m Women’s Air Rifle, Individual
World Ranking: 11
Elavenil Valarivan
Events - 10m Women’s Air Rifle, Individual and Mixed Team
World Ranking: 1
Rahi Sarnobat
Event - 25m Women’s Pistol, Individual
World Ranking: 2
Anjum Moudgil –
Events - 50m Women’s Air Rifle 3 positions, Individual and Mixed Team
World Ranking: 27
Tejaswini Sawant
Event - 50m Women’s Rifle 3 Position, Individual
World Ranking: 28
