Shooters Deepak Kumar and Divyansh Singh Panwar were unable to make the final of the men's 10m air rifle event at the Tokyo Olympics.
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Shooters Deepak Kumar and Divyansh Singh Panwar were unable to make the final of the men’s 10m air rifle event at the Tokyo Olympics. (Tokyo 2020 full coverage)
Kumar finished the event in 26th whereas Panwar finished slightly lower in 32nd. Both shooters started slowly and it was that slow start which cost them.
The fact that they shot one too many 9’s also didn’t help their case. Especially since the men at the front of the pack were showing frightening consistency.
It is worth noting that the top 3 of Haoran Yang, Lucas Kozeniesky and William Shaner all broke the Olympic qualifying record for this event.
To get close to that, both Kumar and Panwar would have needed to be on their game from the get go. And while they did improve as the event wore on, by then it was too late.
Heading into the Games, there was plenty of hope from the shooting contingent. The team contained a mix of youthful prospects and veterans who have big-game experience.
However, so far the sport has been quite the mixed bag for India. The 10m air rifle event saw medal contenders Apurvi Chandela and Elavenil Valarivan crash out.
There was even more heartbreak in store as Abhishek Verma crashed out in the 10m air pistol. Saurabh Chaudhary gave 1.3 billion Indians plenty to smile as he topped the qualifying to move into the medal round.
But, in the medal stage, he finished seventh as the pressure of the situation got to him.
India have won a medal at Tokyo thanks to weightlifter Mirabai Chanu. She won a silver medal on Saturday, thus becoming the first Indian medalist on the opening day of the Games.
The Tokyo Olympics, which was delayed by a year due to the COVID-19 pandemic, is now up and running. The Games have not been without their share of controversies, however.
The event is happening despite plenty of protests from the Japanese people against it. And the angst is not without reason. Tokyo is currently in a state of emergency due to a rise in COVID cases.
The Games will by and large be played out in the absence of fans, always a major psychological blow to athletes. There’s also been a number of cases reported in the Olympic village itself.
Nevertheless, the Games remain an event that many around the world will be keen to watch. From July 23 to August 8, many will be hooked onto their televisions to follow the events.
