Full list of Paris Olympic quotas won by India at Asian Shooting Championships 2023

Published at :November 4, 2023 at 12:21 PM

Modified at :January 14, 2024 at 12:56 AM

(Courtesy : The Times of India/Mid-Day/IndianShooting.com)

A total of six quotas were secured by the Indian shooting contingent at the competition.

The Asian Shooting Championships 2023, which began on October 22, marked its conclusion on November 2, 2023, with Indian athletes performing exceptionally in different shooting disciplines. With six gold, eight silver, and five bronze medals, Indian shooters culminated their campaign on a high, finishing third in the medal table, behind China and South Korea, at the Asian Shooting Championships 2023.

The championships was also a crucial event for the shooters belonging to the Asian continent as they served as a gateway for earning quotas for the Paris Olympics 2024. At the end of the tournament, the Indian athletes collected a total of six significant quotas for their nation for the upcoming Summer Olympics 2024 in Paris.

The tournament offered a total of 24 quota places to the athletes for the Olympic Games. Although the quota place is earned when an athlete performs brilliantly in a discipline, it is the National Olympic Committees (NOCs) who will make the final decision of picking and sending shooters for the Olympics.

In India, the National Rifle Association of India (NRAI) will evaluate the shooters’ performance closer to the Olympics time frame through a series of four trials. The five top-ranked Indian shooters as of February 29, 2024, will be granted the chance to participate in these trials. In addition, those who have already secured an Olympic quota will be given a bonus point, which will be added to their trial scores to give them a slight advantage in the selection process.

While the upcoming trials will ultimately determine who will represent the Indian contingent for the Paris Olympics 2024, the Indian participants at the Asian Shooting Championships 2023 put forth their utmost efforts to earn crucial Olympic quotas for their country. Let’s look at the shooters who accomplished the quotas at the championships through their brilliant performance.

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Sarabjot Singh (Men’s 10m Air Pistol)

With a bronze-medal victory at the Asian Shooting Championships 2023, Sarabjot Singh, claimed India’s eighth and the first Olympics quota in a pistol event. In the finals, the athlete from Punjab shot 221.1 points to finish behind People’s Republic of China’s Zhang Yifan and Liu Jinyaon. Earlier, in the qualifications, he scored 581 to finish eighth and advanced to the final. In addition, Sarabjot shone in the 10m pistol mixed team event, winning silver alongside Surbhi Rao.

Arjun Babuta (Men’s 10m Air Rifle)

Arjun Babuta was the second Indian shooter to clinch a quota for India at the Asian Shooting Championships 2023. The rifle shooter earned India’s ninth quota overall as he bagged a silver medal in the men’s 10m air rifle event. He scored 251.2 points and ended behind the Tokyo Olympics 2020 silver medalist Sheng Lihao, who shot 252.1 and had to settle for second place. Earlier, Babuta had topped the qualification round with a sensational performance, scoring 633.4.

Tilottama Sen (Women’s 10m Air Rifle)

Tilottama Sen ,15, who has been making waves in the sport, was the 10th Indian shooter to win a quota for the Paris Olympics 2024. Although, Tilottama missed out on gold as she shot 252.3 points in the finals, she had obtained a quota for the upcoming Summer Olympics. She finished just behind South Korea’s Eunji Kwon who scored 252.4 in the finals. Previously, the youngster qualified with a fourth-place finish (630.5) in the qualifications.

Manu Bhaker (Women’s 25m Pistol)

Tokyo Olympian Manu Bhaker finally tasted success in the individual event as she collected India’s second Paris Olympics 2024 quota in pistol events. Despite a fifth-place finish in the women’s 25m pistol event, Manu secured the quota since China had already won a maximum of two quotas with Chen Yan’s win at the World Championships 2022 and Liu Rui, who won gold. With Iran’s Rostamiyan Haniyeh having previously claimed a quota in Cairo, Manu claimed the available quota place.

Anish Bhanwala (Men’s 25m Rapid Fire Pistol)

The Commonwealth Games 2018 gold medalist, Anish Bhanwala, earned India’s third pistol quota and the first in the men’s 25m rapid-fire pistol event at the Asian Shooting Championships 2023. Although Anish finished third with 28 out of 35 shots, he earned the quota place as the top two finishers South Korea’s Lee Gunhyeok and Japan’s Dai Yoshioka had already collected quotas in previous Olympic qualification events. With a third-place finish, Anish also contributed to the medal tally, bagging a bronze for India.

Shriyanka Sadangi (Women’s 50m Rifle 3 Positions)

The last and the 13th quota for India at the Asian Shooting Championships 2023 was grabbed by Shriyanka Sadangi. She did so by achieving a fourth-place finish in the women’s 50m rifle 3 Positions event with a score of 440.5. Since Chinese shooters had earned the maximum of two quotas, Shriyanka secured India’s second quota in this event. With Shriyanka winning the quota, India now has bagged all eight quota places in the rifle events (across both genders).