Palak Gulia secures Olympic Quota in women's 10m Air Pistol, bags bronze

The quota won by Palak Gulia was India’s 20th Olympic quota in shooting for Paris.

Indian shooting contingent continued its stellar run ahead of the Paris Olympics as ace pistol shooter Palak Gulia secured India’s 20th quota for the upcoming quadrennial games. The reigning Asian Games champion fought through a tense qualification round before finding her rhythm in the finals to bag the bronze medal in the women’s 10m Air Pistol event at the ISSF Final Olympic Qualification Championship Rifle/Pistol in Rio de Janeiro on Sunday.

The 18-year-old Gulia shot 578 in the qualifications to scrape through in sixth position among the eight finalists. However, she raised her game when it mattered most, shooting 217.6 in the finals to clinch the crucial Olympic quota place alongside a bronze medal.

Indian shooters will compete in all Rifle/Pistol events at #Paris2024! 🇮🇳🔫10m Air Rifle Men ✅✅10m Air Rifle Women ✅✅50m Rifle 3 Positions Men ✅✅50m Rifle 3 Positions Women ✅✅10m Air Pistol Men✅✅10m Air Pistol Women ✅✅25m Rapid Fire Pistol Men ✅✅25m Pistol… pic.twitter.com/r1dBG5T2fw

— Khel Now (@KhelNow) April 14, 2024

The gold medal went to Armenia’s Elmira Karapetyan who shot 240.7, while Thailand’s Kamonlak Saencha took silver with 240.5.

India’s other shooter Sainyam also made the finals after equalling Gulia’s 578 in qualifications. However, the 19-year-old could only manage 176.7 in the finals to finish outside the medal bracket.

Earlier in the qualifications, India’s third entrant Surbhi Rao missed out despite shooting 578, finishing ninth after being edged out based on inner 10 ring scores.

India has already secured 20 out of the maximum 24 quota spots for the Olympic shooting events. It’s noteworthy that the Olympics will feature 340 shooters across 15 events, which include three mixed team events. Qualified shooters for individual categories are also eligible to participate in the mixed team competitions.

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