Who is Divyansh Singh Panwar? 5 things you didn't know about India's shooting medal prospect

Divyansh Singh Panwar has become one of India's best rifle shooters over the years. The 18-year-old has established himself as a top tier shooter after winning several international medals in his short career as an air rifle shooter.

The youngster has defeated several world champions in his rise to the top and will be hoping to help India clinch a medal in the the 10-meter air-rifle category. Here are a few things you probably didn't know about Divyansh Singh Panwar.

# 1 Divyansh Singh Panwar and his PUBG addiction

As a teenager, Divyansh Singh Panwar loved playing PUBG, and this addiction forced his father, Ashok Panwar, to send him to Karni Singh Shooting Range in Delhi to train under coach Deepak Kumar Dubey.

It was this decision that changed his life, because just two years after that, Divyansh Singh Parmar was part of the Indian World Cup team.

From gayatri mantra to beating PUBG addiction, Divyansh Panwar eyes Tokyo Olympics glory under coach Deepak Dubey

# 2 Where is Divyansh Singh Panwar currently ranked?

Divyansh has been absolutely phenomenal in international competitions over the past few years. He was the number 1 ranked shooter in the 10-meter air rifle category, but slipped down to second position after a dip in form.

He will be hoping to bounce back from that setback and deliver his best at the Tokyo Olympics 2020.

It's a matter of great pride that three Indians are ranked No. 1 shooters after the season-ending ISSF World Cup Final concludes in Putian, China on Friday. The top-ranked crowns are held by shooters Elavenil Valarivan, Divyansh Singh Panwar and Saurabh Chaudhury🇮🇳🥇 pic.twitter.com/qQ2nGO8cQF

— Kiren Rijiju (@KirenRijiju) November 25, 2019

# 3 Diyansh Singh Panwar and his preparations during lockdown

Despite the Covid-19 induced lockdown, Divyansh continued his practices in a makeshift apartment, which he turned into a shooting range during the pandemic. His coach Deepak Dubey helped him set the shooting range, and he shot across three rooms, at a target hanging on a cupboard.

The requirements for the range were provided by the government.

While talking about the makeshift range, Divyansh said, " The biggest difference is the environment, over there [shooting range] you have a feeling that this is a proper range and you feel that all the matches will be played there - World Cup and international. The feeling is different, over here there is no such feeling during practice." Divyansh told The Hindu in 2020.

# 4 How many medals has Divyansh Singh Panwar won?

Divyansh grabbed the gold medal in the 10-meter men's air rifle and mixed team events in 2019 in Putian, China. He also added to his tally of gold in Beijing and Munich, as he won the 10-meter air-rifle events in both tournaments in 2019.

He also bagged a bronze with the men's team in Rio in 2019 and a silver in the 10-meter rifle event in Beijing, to sum up, a brilliant year for him.

In total, he bagged six medals that year and, with a gold in the 10-meter individual event in Putian, Divyansh Singh Panwar won a spot in the Tokyo Olympics.

Apurvi Chandela, Divyansh Singh win 10m air rifle golds at Meyton Cup; Anjum Moudgil, Deepak Kumar settle for bronze

# 5 Divyansh Singh Panwar's intense battle with Aishwary Singh Tomar

Divyansh came third in the T4 event of the national qualifiers, and in the finals, he went out and battled against another Tokyo-bound shooter, Aishwary Pratap Singh Tomar.

The two went at it in the finals and were all tied until the 23rd shot, but Panwar's bulls eye on the 24th shot helped him get the better of his compatriot and in the running, he broke the world record that had been set by Yu Haonan of China.