Record shooting contingent out to end India's 12-year medal drought

A squad full of debutants, free from past baggage will aim to ace the ultimate test of their lives when the shooting competition of the Paris Olympics begins in the sleepy French town of Chateauroux on Friday. India has won four Olympic medals in shooting out of its overall tally of 35 but none in the last two editions of the Summer Games, putting the additional pressure of expectations on the record 21-member Indian contingent based in central France.

The national shooting federation, National Rifle Association of India (NRAI), chose current form over pedigree to pick the squad for the mega event and it will be hoping they hit the bullseye at the National Shooting Centre here. Even the quota winners were made to battle out in the trials with the inexperienced Sandeep Singh pipping 2022 world champion Rudranksh Patil, who had secured India's quota in the 10m air rifle.

Patil wrote to NRAI proposing his selection in the team despite finishing behind Sandeep in the trials, but the federation stuck to its guns.

The athletes have been training away from the hustle and bustle of Paris and that could work in their favour come competition day. Barring Manu Bhaker, Aishwary Pratap Singh Tomar, Anjum Moudgil and Elavenil Valarivan, all will experience the biggest sporting stage for the first time. India will have representation in all 15 shooting events.

It is not just peak performance on the day that matters in the Olympics, luck too plays a major part. The 22-year-old Bhaker, who has won a bagful of medals in world events, had a stroke of bad luck at the Tokyo Games where her weapon malfunctioned in 10m air pistol qualification and she could not recover from that setback. She will be taking part in three disciplines - 10m air pistol, 25m pistol and 10m pistol mixed team.

India's main challenge will come from China who are also fielding 21 shooters across disciplines. Another women shooter to watch out for will be Sift Kaur Samra, who won the 50m rifle three positions gold at the Asian Games.

Moudgil, one of the seasoned pros in the squad, is making a comeback and will lineup alongside Sift in the women's 50m rifle three positions. Twenty-year-old Rhythm Sangwan will be participating in two events, women's 10m air pistol alongside Bhaker and the 10m air pistol mixed team.

"The preparation has been going good. The range is beautiful. I was a little upset staying away from main village in Paris. It is not as I expected but I am here for the competition and win and not pass any comments on the Games Village. Olympics is the biggest stage out here," said Sangwan.

Among the male participants, only Tomar has been part of the Olympics before. Tomar, member of the gold winning team at the 2023 World Championships, will be seen in the men's 50m rifle three positions alongside Swapnil Kusale.

The male debutants who have a decent international experience include Anish Bhanwala, Sarabjot Singh, Arjun Babuta, Arjun Singh Cheema and Vijayveer Singh. Gagan Narang, the 2012 Olympic bronze medallist who is here as India's chef de mission, is backing the shooters to end the medal drought in this edition.

"My first Olympic experience was in 2004 and I remember at that time, we were not as confident as we are today. There is genuine belief that we are at par with the best in the world," said Narang.

The biggest test of the shooters' lives awaits.

Full squad

Rifle:

Men's 10m air rifle: Sandeep Singh, Arjun Babuta

Women's 10m air rifle: Elavenil Valarivan, Ramita Jindal

Women's 50m rifle 3 positions: Sift Kaur Samra, Anjum Moudgil

Men's 50m rifle 3 positions: Aishwary Pratap Singh Tomar, Swapnil Kusale

10m air rifle mixed team: Sandeep Singh/Elavenil Valarivan, Arjun Babuta/Ramita Jindal

Pistol:

Men's 10m air pistol: Sarabjot Singh, Arjun Cheema

Women's 10m air pistol: Manu Bhaker, Rhythm Sangwan

Men's 25m rapid fire pistol: Anish Bhanwala, Vijayveer Sidhu

Women's 25m pistol: Manu Bhaker, Esha Singh

10m air pistol mixed team: Sarabjot Singh/Manu Bhaker, Arjun Singh Cheema/Rhythm Sangwan

Shotgun:

Men's trap: Prithviraj Tondaiman

Women's trap: Rajeshwari Kumari, Shreyasi Singh

Men's skeet: Anantjeet Singh Naruka

Women's skeet: Maheshwari Chauhan, Raiza Dhillon

Skeet mixed team: Anantjeet Singh Naruka/Maheshwari Chauhan.