Olympic Selection Trials: Swapnil Kusale and Ashi Chouksey top 50m rifle 3P qualifications in the first set
After the conclusion of two sets of Olympic Selection Trials for pistol shooters, the event turned towards the 50m rifle 3-position qualifications at Dr. Karni Singh Shooting Range in New Delhi on Tuesday, April 23.
Moving to the details of men’s 50m rifle 3-position, Olympic quota winner Swapnil Kusale shot 592 to top the qualification in the first set of the Olympic Selection Trials (OST T1). Swapnil had 199 in kneeling, 199 in prone, and 194 in standing position.
On the other hand, Olympian Chain Singh shot a total of 591 (199 in kneeling, 197 in prone, 195 in standing), while the other Olympic quota winner, Akhil Sheoran, bagged a total of 589 (195, 200, 194).
Another Olympian, Aishwary Pratap Singh Tomar, who secured four medals in the Hangzhou Asian Games 2023, started off on a dismal note in Olympic Selection Trials, shooting only 576 (191 in kneeling,197 in prone, 188 in standing).
It is important to note that Aishwary will have an added advantage of deemed quota, which will help him in gaining two bonus points. Swapnil Kusale and Akhil Sheoran will also have similar bonus points.
What about women’s 50m rifle shooters in Olympic Selection Trails?
Shifting our focus to the women’s rifle 3-position event, Ashi Chouksey topped the qualification with a total of 590 points, just seven ahead of Asian Games gold medallist Sift Kaur Samra.
Olympian Anjum Moudgil went on to shoot 581, while the Olympic quota winner Shriyanka Sadangi shot 575, with Nischal Singh also shooting 575 points. The finals in both men’s and women’s categories will be held on Wednesday, April 24.
After the two sets of Olympic Selection Trials in Delhi, the third and fourth sets will be held in Bhopal in May. The best three scores out of four will be taken in consideration while selecting the Indian contingent for the Paris Olympics 2024.
A look at the results from the qualification stage:
Men’s 50m rifle 3-position:
1. Swapnil Suresh Kusale - 199,199,194 - 592
2. Chain Singh - 199,197,195 - 591
3. Akhil Sheoran - 195,200,194 - 589
4. Niraj Kumar - 197,197,185 - 579
5. Aishwary Pratap Singh Tomar - 191,197,188 -576
Women 50m rifle 3-position:
1. Ashi Chouksey - 197,198,195 - 590
2. Sift Kaur Samra - 193,197,193 - 583
3. Anjum Moudgil - 194,194,193 - 581
4. Shiyanka Sadangi - 193,192,190 - 575
5. Nischal Singh - 189,197,189 - 575