Five years ago, in the Rio Olympics (2016), Indian shooters were also considered as medal contenders, but from there too they returned empty-handed. Now there is a similar fear in the Tokyo Olympics.
Will Sanjeev Rajput and Aishwarya Pratap Singh Tomar be able to end the streak of poor performance of shooters in the Olympics with medals?
Sanjeev Rajput and Aishwarya Pratap Singh Tomar will compete in the Men’s 50m Rifle 3 Positions at the Tokyo Olympics 2020 on Monday. During this, his effort will be to end the disappointing Indian campaign in the Olympics so far in a positive way. Before the start of the Tokyo Olympics, the Indian shooting contingent was considered as a contender for many medals, but so far no shooter has been able to do so. Away from medals, Indian shooters are longing to reach the finals. Except Saurabh Chaudhary, no one has reached the final. Indian shooters now have only one event left in the men’s 50m rifle three position.
Five years ago, in the Rio Olympics (2016), Indian shooters were also considered as medal contenders, but from there too they returned empty-handed. Rajput had secured India’s first Olympic quota in this event during the 2019 ISSF World Cup in Rio de Janeiro, while Tomar secured a second quota at the Asian Shooting Championships later that year. In the men’s 10m air pistol event, except Saurabh Chaudhary, none of the Indian shooters made it to the final in Tokyo. The responsibility of ending the team’s campaign in a memorable way is now on Rajput and Tomar. 40-year-old veteran Rajput is participating in his third Olympics, while 20-year-old Tomar is making his debut in these games.
Tomar won the World Cup gold in March
Tomar, who is ranked second in the world rankings, is in good shape. He won the 50m rifle three position gold medal at the World Cup in New Delhi in March this year and then secured a place in the final at the June-July World Cup in Osijek, Croatia. He also managed to cross the qualifying hurdle in the men’s 10m air rifle event of the same tournament. Rajput, who is ranked sixth in the world rankings, had finished sixth in the World Cup held in New Delhi. However, he was eliminated from the qualification round in the Osijek World Cup.
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