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Young Indian shooters Varun Tomar and Esha Singh secured two Olympic quota places for the country by winning gold medals in the men's and women's 10m Air Pistol events at the Asian Qualifiers in Jakarta on December 8.
With this achievement, the total number of Indian shooters heading to Paris reached 15, matching the highest-ever tally achieved during the Tokyo Games.
India have the potential to increase the count further for the Games scheduled in July-August this year, with additional qualifiers yet to take place. India clinched six medals, including two team golds, at the continental event on December 8.
In the final, 20-year-old Tomar scored 239.6 to secure the top position, while Arjun Cheema won the silver medal with a score of 237.3. The bronze medal went to Mongolia's Davaakhuu Enkhtaivan with a score of 217.2.
In the earlier rounds, Tomar (586), Cheema (579), and Ujjawal Malik (575) combined for a total of 1740, winning the 10m air pistol team gold. Iran and Korea secured the silver and bronze medals, respectively.
Varun, a former junior world champion, is the cousin of Tokyo Olympian Saurabh Chaudhary, who won a gold medal in the 2018 Asian Games.
"It helped that I had someone like Saurabh to take guidance from as I don't have anyone in the family who is a shooter," Tomar, who comes from a farming family, told PTI.
The 19-year-old Esha secured the gold in the women's event with a score of 243.1. Pakistan's Kishmala Talat claimed the silver with a score of 236.3, while Esha's compatriot Rhythm Sangwan took the bronze with a score of 214.5. Talat, at 21, also secured a quota for the Paris Games, making her the third Pakistani shooter to achieve this milestone.
Esha, Rhythm, and Surbhi Rao combined for a team gold medal with a total score of 1736.
Notably, Esha is a world championship gold medalist in the 10m air pistol mixed team and 25m pistol team events.
"She can also win a medal, possibly gold, in 25m sports pistol here. But an individual can bag only one quota place for the country. Her bagging the quota in 10m air pistol means she can also compete in 25m sports pistol in Paris," said Esha's father Sachin Singh.
The continental event in Jakarta offers a total of 16 quota places for the Paris Olympics.
In the 10m air pistol events for both men and women, there are four quotas available, with a maximum of three for Indian shooters.
A total of 385 athletes from 26 countries are competing at the Senayan Shooting Range in Jakarta for a chance to win 256 medals (84 gold, 84 silver, and 88 bronze), in addition to the Paris quotas.
Before this tournament, India had secured 13 Olympic quota places in shooting, spanning rifle, pistol, and shotgun disciplines.
(Powered by AI, Inputs by PTI)
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