Indian shooters aim for 4 more Paris 2024 spots through ISSF Final Olympic Qualification Championship - Shotgun
Indian shooters can grab up to four more spots at the Paris 2024 Olympics through the ISSF Final Olympic Qualification Championship event in Doha, Qatar.
India is all set to send its biggest squad of shooters at an Olympics with 20 having already qualified for the mega event.
At the Tokyo 2020 Games, the number of Indian marksmen was 15 - the previous best. However, none of the shooters were able to win a medal. This was a sore spot in an otherwise memorable Summer Games for India.
For Paris 2024, a nation can send a maximum of 24 shooters, and that's where the ISSF Final Olympic Qualification Championship comes in.
This event will feature four shotgun events - men's trap, women's trap, men's skeet, and women's skeet. The top two performers in each event will secure their Olympic qualification, though every country is allowed only one qualifier in each event.
India has fielded a squad of 12 shooters, three each in all events. This is the final opportunity for them to book a ticket for Paris. As of now, out of the 20 who have qualified for the Summer Games, four are shotgun marksmen.
The tournament's activities started on April 19 with unofficial training for the trap shooters. Official pre-event training for the trap shooters takes place today, along with the opening ceremony.
The competition starts on Sunday with the qualification round for the men's and women's trap shooters. This will feature 50 targets for each competitor. The final of the trap events takes place on April 23.
The skeet event begins the next day, with the unofficial training sessions. The qualification round will start on April 26 and the final will take place on April 28.
Indian squad for ISSF Final Olympic Qualification Championship - Shotgun
Men's Trap: Vivaan Kapoor, Zoravar Singh Sandhu, and Prithviraj Tondaiman.
Women's Trap: Manisha Keer, Shreyasi Singh, and Neeru.
Men's Skeet: Sheeraz Sheikh, Mairaj Ahmad Khan, and Angadvir Singh Bajwa.
Women's Skeet: Maheshwari Chauhan, Ganemat Sekhon, and Areeba Khan.
ISSF Final Olympic Qualification Championship - Shotgun: How and where to watch
Those interested in following the Indian shooters at this event can catch the finals live on ISSF's official YouTube channel. The timings of the finals are given below.
Women's Trap final: April 23, from 5:17 PM IST
Men's Trap final: April 23, from 6:47 PM IST
Women's Skeet final: April 28, from 5:17 PM IST
Men's Skeet final: April 28, from 6:47 PM IST