Tokyo Olympics: Why did India shooters falter in 10M Air Rifle and Pistol? Experts give answer!

In fact, only Saurabh Chaudhary, who competed the 10M air pistol, managed to advance to the final where he finished seventh among the eight shooters. Others Divyansh Panwar, Abhishek Verma, Elavenil Valarivan, Apurvi Chandela, Yeshaswini Deswal and Manu Bhaker failed to reach the medal round.

But the run-up to the Tokyo Olympics told us a different tale. India were the most dominant nation in the ISSF World Cups between 2018 and 2021, winning gold galore and medals of other hues. It was not really unrealistic to expect a good haul from them at Tokyo.

So where have they faltered? MyKhel reached out to a few experts to find out.

1. Prof Sunny Thomas (former national coach and Dronacharya awardee): It was unfortunate that they did not enter the final and ended up with no medal in individual events. Olympics is a pressure event and you need to be mentally ready to conquer the big stage. Many of them are so young and appearing in their first Olympics. There might have been a bit nerves too and I think Manu Bhaker’s gun malfunctioned at a critical time. These things happen at international level, where competition is strong and unforgiving. They participated in an event before the Olympics in Croatia and had some game time. However, the pressure during the Olympic competition is very different where the whole country watches you. Even one bad shot can cost you big. But I have hope on them in the team events.

2. Anjali Bhagawat (Olympic finalist and former world champion): It is certainly disappointing that our shooters did not win any individual medal in Tokyo. Olympics is very different from other competitions. Remember, Jeetu Rai was poised for a medal in the 2016 Rio Games but one shot cost him the glory. So, it’s all about that one moment and consistency. But having said that, I think India will put up a better show in the mixed events. Saurabh and Manu, and Elavenil and Divyansh Singh Panwar are good team and dominated the world competitions in the last year or so. I hope they will repeat the show in the Tokyo Olympics too.

3. Jitu Rai (Olympian, gold winner in the CWG, Asian Games and World Champion): Well, I know a thing or two about missing the Olympic glory by a whisker. I understand how these youngsters might feel at the moment as I went through same emotions five years ago at Rio Olympics. At Olympics, it is all about beating the pressure on you, living up to expectations the whole country places on you. Finding consistency at the right time after years of preparations. We should back these young Indian shooters to come good in the team events and they might just have another crack at an Olympic medal four years later. A modest effort in the individual events should not take away the credit from what they have done in the last year or two in world events. They will make a comeback.