Asian Shooting Championship: Indians aim for Olympic quota in men's air rifle

Indian shooters have secured nine Olympic quota places so far and will be eyeing to secure few more as they gear up for the Asian Shooting Championship in Doha.

REPRESENTATIONAL IMAGE

There will be plenty of action on the opening day of the 14th Asian shooting championship in Doha, Qatar, on Tuesday.

There will be a lot of expectations on the strong Indian team to add to the nine Olympic quota places won so far, as it will be the chance to book berths for the Tokyo Games in 2020.

There will be air rifle finals for men and women on the opening day apart from women’s air pistol finals.

India has won the maximum possible share of two Olympic quota each in women’s air rifle and air pistol. In men’s air rifle, India can win one more Olympic quota, and that will be the major point of interest on the opening day.

There will also be mixed trap junior event on the first day, to keep the juniors engaged.

READ | Asian Championship: India seeks to win more Olympic quota

The preliminary rounds will be shot in men’s and women’s trap, apart from the first stage in men’s 25-metre rapid fire pistol. India has been anxiously seeking to secure Olympic quota in these three events, and thus it should be interesting to see how well the shooters place themselves on the first day, to stay in the race for final berths on the second day.

Having topped the medals table in all the four World Cups this season in rifle and pistol, in Delhi, Beijing, Munich and Rio de Janeiro, Indian shooters will be keen to close the season a bright note, so as to launch their Olympic campaign on a strong note in 2020.