There are 340 Paris Olympic quotas assigned to the ISSF, the world body of shooting, by the International Olympic Committee. While 300 of these are rewarded through competitions, the remaining are distributed to the host (12), Universality place holders (16) and the highest-ranked athletes in each discipline during the Olympic qualification period (12).
Each National Olympic Committee is allowed 24 quotas (12 for men and 12 for women) across all events. Only three of these have been claimed thus far by Bhowneesh Mendiratta, Rudrankksh Balasaheb Patil and Swapnil Kusale.
1. Bhowneesh Mendiratta (Trap)
Bhowneesh missed a medal in men’s trap but clinched the first Olympic quota for Paris 2024 Games with a fourth-place finish in the shotgun World Championship in Osijek, Croatia, on Wednesday, September 28, 2022.
The 23-year-old from Faridabad, Bhowneesh qualified for the final in the fourth place with a score of 121 out of 125, following rounds of 25, 23, 24, 24 and 25. In the semifinals, he topped with 24, but in the medal round he was first to crash out with a score of 13, pipped by one point by the rest.
With the top four in each event getting the Olympic quota, Bhowneesh fetched the first Olympic quota in shooting for India for Paris.
2. Rudrankksh Balasaheb Patil (10m air rifle)
Rudrankksh was in brilliant form as he beat Danilo Dennis Sollazzo of Italy 17-13 for the gold in men’s air rifle and sealed the Olympic quota for Paris in style in the World Championship in Cairo, Egypt, on Friday, October 14, 2022.
The 18-year-old Rudrankksh, competing in the men’s field for the first time, was a class act as he topped qualification with 633.9. More importantly, he was able to ward off the threat from two Chinese shooters, including the reigning world and Olympic champion Yang Haoran.
It was the second Olympic quota for India. His gold in air rifle was only the second in the event for India, after Abhinav Bindra had won it in 2006.
Rudrankksh pipped Sheng Lihao by 0.1 point in the second stage with his score of 261.9 to be eligible for the gold match. Lihao had to settle for bronze, and Yang Haoran finished fourth.
3. Swapnil Kusale (50m rifle 3 positions)
Swapnil Kusale won the Olympic quota in men’s 50-metre rifle 3-position event with a fourth place finish in the World championship in Cairo, Egypt, on Saturday, October 22, 2022.
The 27-year-old Swapnil, who had won the silver in the World Cup in Baku earlier in the season, qualified with a high score of 593. He missed the bronze by 0.3 point to Jon-Hermann Hegg of Norway.
Comments
SHARE