Tokyo Olympics: Indian shooters out of reckoning for medals in mixed team 10m air rifle event

Elavenil Valarivan and Divyansh Singh Panwar and Anjum Moudgil and Deepak Kumar crashed out of the mixed team 10m air rifle event at the Tokyo Olympics.

Deepak Kumar [L] in a file photo. (Image: Twitter)
By Shayne Dias | Jul 27, 2021 | 2 Min Read follow icon Follow Us

The Indian teams of Elavenil Valarivan and Divyansh Singh Panwar and Anjum Moudgil and Deepak Kumar crashed out of the mixed team 10m air rifle event. Thus, Indian shooting’s barren run at the Tokyo Olympics continues. (Tokyo 2020 full coverage)

The first qualification round saw the best 8 teams go through to the next round. The Indian shooters started slow and were never in the reckoning.

In the end, Elavenil & Divyansh finished 12th while Anjum and Deepak were in 18th. Their fates were confirmed even before the final round was fully complete.

It also rounds off a disappointing day in the sport of shooting for India. The team of Manu Bhaker and Saurabh Chaudhary also failed to qualify for the mixed team 10m air pistol final.

Indian shooting at Tokyo Olympics

Heading into the Games, there was plenty of hope from the shooting contingent. The team contains 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. No medals have come from the sport. 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.

Indian skeet shooters Mairaj Ahmed Khan and Angad Vir Singh were also unable to break the jinx.

The Tokyo Olympics, 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.