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In a significant achievement Indian sharpshooter Manu Bhaker secured a spot for India in the Paris 2024 Olympics, following her performance at the Asian Shooting Championships 2023 in Changwon, Republic of Korea.
Despite finishing fifth in the women's 25m pistol event, Bhaker's outing was pivotal in obtaining an Olympic quota for India. Bhaker led in the qualifications with an impressive score of 591. However, she clinched the fifth position with a score of 24 in the medal round. She was bested by China's Liu Rui (37) and Zhao Nan (32), Iran's Rostamiyan Haniyeh (36), and China's Feng Sixuan (27).
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The significance of the Asian Shooting Championships 2023 is amplified due to its role as a qualifier for Paris 2024. It dangles 24 Olympic quotas, with each Olympic shooting event's top two finishers (limited to one per country) ensuring a spot for their national squads.
Bhaker's unique position of securing the quota, even after finishing fifth, arises from specific qualifications. A nation can achieve only two quotas per shooting event for Paris 2024. China, having already achieved one through Chen Yan in the 2022 Cairo Shooting World Championships, had its quota completed with Liu Rui's win. Consequently, other Chinese contenders, Zhao Nan and Feng Sixuan, became ineligible for quotas. Moreover, Iran's Haniyeh had already pocketed a quota in Cairo, leaving the available slot for Bhaker.
India's tally for shooting quotas for Paris 2024 has now reached 11, with women contributing significantly. Other Indian women achievers include Mehuli Ghosh, Sift Kaur Samra, Rajeshwari Kumari, and Tilottama Sen – the latter clinching a quota with her silver in the women’s 10m air rifle event in Changwon. Additionally, Arjun Babuta and Sarabjot Singh have also reserved their Paris 2024 slots from this championship.
However, the final word on athletes' participation in the Olympics rests with the National Olympic Committees (NOCs), which decide their country's representatives for the Games.
In other noteworthy performances, Esha Singh and Rhythm Sangwan ranked 17th and 23rd, respectively, in the women's 25m pistol qualifying round. Despite missing the finals, the trio of Singh, Sangwan, and Bhaker did the nation proud by clinching a silver for India in the women's 25m pistol team event.
In a captivating turn of events, Divyansh Singh Panwar and Ramita secured the silver medal in the 10m air rifle mixed team event. While they topped the qualifications with a score of 631.1, they narrowly missed gold, scoring 16-12 against the Chinese team comprising Han Jiayu and Yu Haonan. Another Indian pair, Tilottama Sen and Arjun Babuta, marked their presence, finishing fifth in the qualification round.
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