Tokyo Olympics 2020: Can Divyansh Singh Panwar, the teenage shooting sensation, win double gold medals in Tokyo?
Teenage shooting sensation Divyansh Singh Panwar is a very important part of the Indian shooting contingent going to the upcoming Tokyo Olympics. He will be leading the Indian contingent in the 10m Air Rifle event. He has had a meteoric rise as a shooter in the last three years.
Divyansh has established himself as one of the best rifle shooters in the world in less than three years and is presently ranked number 2 in the world in the Men's 10m Air Rifle event. He is one of India's biggest medal hopes at this year's Games.
The two Air Rifle events in which Divyansh will be participating in Tokyo are as follows.
1) 10m Air Rifle Men (Scheduled on 25th July 2021)
2) 10m Air Rifle Mixed Team Event (teaming up with Elavenil Valarivan) (Scheduled on 27th July 2021)
Divyansh's prospects of winning medals in these two events at the Tokyo Olympics
India has a very bright chance of winning a medal in both of Divyansh's events at the Tokyo Olympics. These are the two events in which India has been dominant for the last 2 years, winning multiple gold medals in World Cups and other big international events.
The Men's 10m Air Rifle has traditionally been a strong event for India. It is the event in which Abhinav Bindra won gold in the 2008 Beijing Olympics and Gagan Narang won bronze in the 2012 London Olympics.
Divyansh and Deepak Kumar will be representing India at this event at the Tokyo Olympics. Divyansh is the better shooter of the two, although both of them have the capability of winning a medal on their day.
If Divyansh is able to hold his nerve on the big stage and shoot according to his potential, then even a gold medal is not out of his reach in this event at the Tokyo Olympics.
However, it will be easier said than done, as Divyansh has to beat some big names from China, Hungary, USA, Croatia and Russia if he has to win India's second Olympic Gold in this event.
Divyansh and Elavenil Valarivan will team up for the 10m Air Rifle Mixed Team event. Divyansh has a great chance of winning gold in this event. He and Valarivan have been one of the most successful pairs in this new event, ever since its inception three years back.
They won the gold at the 2019 World Cup in Putian and have also been successful in other international events.
However, it will not be easy for this young and talented Indian pair to win a medal at the Tokyo Olympics, as was seen in the recently concluded World Cup event in Osijek, Croatia.
There they finished sixth in the qualification round, behind Russian, Hungarian, American and Austrian pairs and thus returned empty handed.
Divyansh and Valarivan have to get back to their best shooting form at the Tokyo Olympics, if they want to win India's maiden Olympic medal in this event.