Indian shooters fell short of reaching the finals in both the men’s 25m pistol and women’s skeet events:Indian shooters were unable to advance to the finals in both the men’s 25m rapid fire pistol and women’s skeet events at the Paris 2024 Olympics on Sunday.
In the men’s 25m rapid fire pistol, Vijayveer Sidhu came closest to making the final, finishing ninth with a score of 583 and 26 inner 10s (Xs) over two stages. The top six shooters from the 29 participants qualified for the final. Sidhu was in contention until the final series, where he shot 100/100 in the eight-second series of the second stage and 98/100 in the six-second series. However, scores of 47/50 and 45/50 in the four-second series dropped him to ninth place. The cut-off for the final was 585.
Anish Bhanwala also had a competitive performance but fell short, scoring 46/50 in his final series for a total of 582-22X over two stages.
In the women’s skeet event, Indian shooters Maheshwari Chauhan and Raiza Dhillon finished 14th and 23rd, respectively, out of 29 competitors. Chauhan, who had shot a perfect 25 in the fourth round, was in a strong position but fell to 14th place after scoring 22/25 in the final round, ending with a score of 118/125. Dhillon finished with 113/125. The cut-off for the final was 120.
The top qualifier in women’s skeet was Austen Jewell Smith of the USA, a Tokyo 2020 bronze medallist, with a score of 122.
Shooting events at the Paris 2024 Olympics will conclude on Monday with the skeet mixed team competitions, where Indian shooters Anantjeet Singh Naruka and Maheshwari Chauhan will compete.
India has so far won three medals at the Paris 2024 Olympics, all in shooting: Manu Bhaker claimed bronze in the women’s 10m air pistol, and along with Sarabjot Singh, earned bronze in the 10m air pistol mixed team event. Swapnil Kusale also won bronze in the men’s 10m air rifle event.
