With shooting at the Asian Games done and dusted, and the Indian shooting contingent returning with a rich haul of two gold, four silver and three bronze, focus has shifted on to the World Championships in Changwon, Korea, that began on Sunday and runs till September 14. The meet is also the first qualification for the 2020 Tokyo Olympics with some quota places up for grabs.
The junior shooters also compete here alongside the senior events and began their campaign on a high with Arjun Singh Cheema winning a gold in individual junior men’s 50m pistol and then leading his team, also comprising Gaurav Rana and Anmol Jain, to the team gold to finish Day 1 with two golds.
There was more in store on Day 2 on Monday when Anjum Moudgil and Apurvi Chandela became the first set of Indian shooters to secure quota places for the 2020 Olympics by winning silver and finishing fourth, respectively, in the women’s 10m air rifle.
Indian marksmen’s performances at the Asiad, especially the juniors’ of whom 16-year-old Saurabh Chaudhary won gold in men’s 10m air pistol and 15-year-old Shardul Vihan, a silver in men’s double trap, 19-year-old Lakshay Sheoran winning men’s trap silver and 27-year-old Rahi Sarnobat’s historic gold in women’s 25m pistol, give India hope to win more than the four medals – 1 gold, 1 silver and 2 bronze – their shooters have won in Olympic history.
Former Olympian Suma Shirur, currently the high performance coach for the junior Indian team (rifle), was a part of the coaching staff at the Asiad in Jakarta for a few days before shifting her focus on preparing the junior shooters for the Changwon Worlds.
While Shirur was in Jakarta to watch Chaudhary create history, she had to return for a short Indian camp and could not witness Vihan’s silver-medal effort.
Chaudhary and another junior shooter Elavenil Valarivan returned from Jakarta with Shirur on the same flight. In fact, Shirur shared the apartment at the Games Village with Manu Bhaker and Valarivan and acted as their mentor.
