Aishwary Pratap Singh and Sanjeev Rajput put up a poor show in the 50m rifle three position as India’s challenge in shooting in Tokyo Olympics 2020 came to an end.
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India’s challenge in shooting in Tokyo Olympics 2020 came to an end when Aishwary Pratap Singh Tomar and Sanjeev Rajput crashed out of the medal race in the 50m rifle three positions event. Aishwary Pratap Singh Tomar, ranked No.2 in the 50m three positions event, finished 21st. Sanjeev Rajput, playing in his third Olympics and ranked 6th in the world, also failed to put up a good show as he wallowed at the bottom. With this event, the 15-member shooting contingent will now return back to India empty-handed.
Tomar was in contention for some time when the kneeling and prone events were happening. When Rajput shot 96,99, 95 and 97 in the kneeling event, he was immediately facing an uphill task. Rajput’s woes did not end in the prone. In the entire event, Rajput managed just one score of 100 and that was in the prone position. When Rajput shot just over 90 in the standing series, his fate was sealed.
Aishwary Pratap Singh Tomar, on the other hand, had a superb start at the event. In the kneeling event, Tomar shot 99,100,98 and 100. In the first 20 shots, Tomar scored 19 10s and one nine which put him in a good position. In the entire series of 40 shots in kneeling, Tomar shot 37 10s and three nines and he moved to the sixth spot. With other shooters also faltering, Tomar was solid at the fourth position.
In the prone series, Tomar continued to shoot consistently. The world number two managed to hit the target on a regular basis. He did not have a perfect, consistent series in the kneeling section. That was the prime factor why Tomar slipped down to 11th after the end. In prone, all players upped their game while Tomar and Rajput slipped.
When the standing event came up, Rajput was already out but Tomar had a chance. In the first series, disaster struck Tomar as he hit five nines to slip down. In the third series, Tomar’s qualification was gone when he shot an eighth and he slipped to 21st. With this event, the shooting contingent’s story in 2020 Tokyo Olympics was a case of no near yet so far with some missed chances.
The shooting contingent was expected to win a couple of medals for India in Tokyo Olympics 2020. Manu Bhaker and Saurabh Chaudhary were the stars in shooting. Chaudhary started his campaign on the ultimate high by finishing on top in the 10m air pistol qualifying round. But, in the medal round, his campaign ended as he finished seventh.
Manu Bhaker, on the other hand, was in big trouble in her 10m air pistol event when her weapon malfunctioned. She lost 17 seconds and her journey in the event was over. India still had a chance in the 10m air pistol mixed events with Manu and Chaudhary in the event. The duo had won five out of six events. But, in the main event, Chaudhary shot superbly but Manu disappointed. In a disappointing way, India crashed out of their major medal tournament.
Elevanil Valarivan, Divyansh Singh Panwar, Deepak Kumar, and Anjum Moudgil all failed in the 10m air rifle individual and mixed events. Angad Bajwa and Mairaj Ahmed also failed to impress in the skeet shooting event. In the 50m rifle three positions, Tejaswini Sawant and Moudgil also failed while this latest setback is disappointing for India. Ever since Vijay Kumar’s silver in 2012 London, the Indian shooting contingent has now failed to win a medal in two consecutive events.
