The Indian rifle and pistol shooters will renew their quest for Paris Olympic quota places when the Asian Olympic Qualification begins here from Monday.
A total of 16 Paris quota places are available at the continental showpiece and the Indian pistol shooters will be in contention for as many as five possible berths.
The 10m air pistol events for men and women, which have four quotas on offer with a maximum of three for the Indian shooters, begin on the first day of competition with three Indians in contention in each of the two Olympic events.
The men go first with Arjun Singh Cheema, Varun Tomar and Ujjwal Malik gunning for podium finishes and the one quota place that they can win in the event.
Sarabjot Singh has already won the other for the country last year. Esha Singh, Rhythm Sangwan and Surbhi Rao then shoulder Indian hopes in the women’s 10m air pistol, where India has still to win a Paris quota.
National Pistol coach Samaresh Jung was positive about India’s chances. Sharing his thoughts during pre-event training on Sunday, he said, “They have all been shooting well in training. The scores are good, now they have to just execute tomorrow. We are very positive.”
As many as 385 athletes from 26 countries will take aim at the Senayan Shooting Range in Jakarta for 256 medals (84 gold, 84 silver and 88 bronze medals), besides the Paris quotas.
“It’s an old school range and our shooters have settled down pretty comfortably. It’s a competitive field as the stakes are hight, but we expect some success,” said team High Performance Director, Pierre Beauchamp.
In both the events, world powerhouse China are not in contention as they have secured the maximum possible two quotas per event.
Korea, another strong shooting nation, too is not in contention in the women’s event while they can win only one in the men’s event.
However, they can expect stiff competition from shooters from other Asian countries. Among those in contention for a Paris quota will be the Iranian reigning Olympic champion Javad Foroughi.
India have already won 13 Paris Olympic quota places in shooting across rifle, pistol and shotgun disciplines. While all quota places in rifle have been secured, a total of three quotas have been won in pistol. The squad is looking to top its maximum 15-quotas won ahead of the Tokyo games last time around.
The Shotgun Asian qualifiers come up on January 10 in Kuwait City, following which Indian shooters will have one more qualifying event in Rio to win quotas, before world ranking slots are considered.
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