Indian rifle shooter and Tokyo Olympian Divyansh Singh Panwar has regained his form on Day Two of the National Rifle and Pistol Selection Trials at the MP State Shooting Academy Range in Bhopal.
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Indian rifle shooter and Tokyo Olympian Divyansh Singh Panwar has regained his form on Day Two of the National Rifle and Pistol Selection Trials at the MP State Shooting Academy Range in Bhopal. Panwar who was recently dropped from the upcoming ISSF World Cup 2023 to be held in Baku from May 04 to May 15, 2023, made a stunning comeback at the T4 10m men’s air rifle trials. The 20-year-old from Jaipur scored a sensational 636.3 points during the T4 qualification round. This score was even higher than the world record of 635.4 points shot by China’s Sheng Lihao during the ISSF World Cup 2023 Bhopal leg which was held last month in India. This total also currently ranks as the world record.
In the qualifications, Divyansh Singh Panwar displayed a dominant show by scoring 107.3, 105.6, 106.8, 104.7, 106.7, and 105.2 in the six series, respectively. Sri Karthik Sabari Raj of Tamil Nadu came in second in the qualification round with a total of 632.1. The ISSF World Cup Cairo 2023 gold medalist in the men’s 50m rifle 3-positions Aishwary Pratap Singh Tomar finished third, scoring 631.3. In the ranking round, Divyansh again topped the field with a score of 265 and advanced to the final. Surya Pratap Singh Banshtu was the other athlete who made it to the final, scoring 630.6. While, Aishwary placed sixth in the ranking round, ending with 208.1 in the ranking match. The gold-medal playoff between Divyansh and Surya witnessed the former winning the contest with a margin of 16-12.
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It is important to note that the trials didn’t follow the re-introduced format implemented by the International Shooting Sport Federation (ISSF). The ISSF World Cup 2023 in Baku will be held in the new format which was also practiced during the time of the Tokyo Olympics 2020. The older format where the top two shooters from the ranking round proceeded to the gold medal match where the shooter who got 16 points first was declared the winner will no longer be used. According to many shooters and coaches, the reintroduced format is more rewarding as it will be beneficial to the more consistent shooter and will be less time-consuming.
Divyansh Singh Panwar has previously won many medals for India, including four gold medals, one silver, and one bronze medal in the ISSF World Cup events. However, since the pandemic and Tokyo Olympics 2020, he has not been able to replicate his success in international and national events. As a result, this win would have given him a lot of confidence and will help in improving in the upcoming international tournaments. He is presently being coached by Deepak Kumar Dubey.
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