In what could be termed as a brainstorming session, literally, the selection committee of the National Rifle Association of India met on Sunday to finalise the 15-member squad for the Tokyo Olympics, starting on July 23.
Considering the fact that the ISSF World Cup ended in the Capital a week ago, the delay in naming the squad seemed inordinate. But then, several factors had to be taken into account before finalising the names for various events. At the end of the long meeting in the Capital on Sunday, there were no big surprises except for Chinki Yadav, quota place winner in sports pistol, not being named in the squad.
Chinki had grabbed headlines recently when she won gold medal in the 25-metre sports pistol event in the ISSF World Cup recently. However, according to the scores, averages and the selection policy put in place by the NRAI, post the Rio Olympics disaster, Chinki did not make the cut. It means the pressure of expectation will now rest on the shoulders of 19-year-old Manu Bhaker.
The second year student of LSR College in the Capital will now shoots the air pistol, mixed team event with Saurabh Chaudhary as well as sports pistol event.
For carping critics who feels Manu has got more than what she deserves, the young girl did have a very average World Cup by her own lofty standards.
The NRAI selection committee comprised officials plus coaches. And the unanimous view was her scores as per the selection policy were above Chinki Yadav and she deserved to shoot three events. There was even a debate in the meeting should Manu win a medal early on (air pistol), would she be in the right frame of mind to fire herself up for the 25-metre sports pistol event. At that point of time the selection committee had to sift through her scores in previous international competitions and the view was Manu can sustain the pressure well on the big stage.
Meanwhile, Elavenil, World No.1 in air rifle, did not win a quota place. This is not the first time such “adjustments” have been made. In 2016, Sanjeev Rajput’s quota place was surrendered and Kynan Chenai was included in trap event. Rajput will shoot the 3P event this time.
Had the team selection been done a year ago and the Olympics were held in 2020, the selectors may have had less headache. However, with the Olympics getting postponed and shooters missing a long period of training time, return to competition was not easy. In air rifle, both Anjum Moudgil and Apurvi Chandela turned in average scores in the World Cup. With Elevanil included, and having won a mixed air rifle gold at the World Cup, some big changes have been made in the rifle squads.
“We wanted to go not just by scores but also medal winning prospects. The team chosen is the best and we relied on scores of competitions plus trials. Going merely by what happened in the World Cup recently could not have been the criteria for selection,” said a member of the selection committee.
When the India shooting contingent returned from Rio in 2016 empty-handed, there was chaos at home. NRAI President Raninder Singh took up responsibility at that time. It was followed by a post mortem and selection policy being put in place.
The NRAI meeting has also named reserves for each event. Curiously, the NRAI has not named the coaches who will go to Tokyo. They are hoping accreditation cards can be used judiciously for the coaches.
Commenting on the team selection, Raninder. Singh said: “The national selection committee’s main focus was to select the strongest squad for the Olympic Games and to ensure that the most consistent performers in each event, during the course of this entire Olympic cycle, do not miss out. I believe they have done an excellent job on both those fronts and we are confident that this selection will deliver.”
“The selection has been done purely on merit and in keeping with the provisions of NRAI’s Olympic selection ranking policy. This merit based approach has enabled us to field a third specialist shooter in the Women’s 10M Air Rifle events as well as go with the two best shooters in Women’s 25M Pistol event,” added Raninder.
THE TEAM:
10M AIR RIFLE MEN
1. DIVYANSH SINGH PANWAR
2. DEEPAK KUMAR
SANDEEP SINGH – RESERVE SHOOTER
AISHWARY PRATAP SINGH TOMAR – RESERVE SHOOTER
50M RIFLE 3 POSITION MEN
1. SANJEEV RAJPUT
2. AISHWARY PRATAP SINGH TOMAR
SWAPNIL KUSALE – RESERVE SHOOTER
CHAIN SINGH – RESERVE SHOOTER
10M AIR PISTOL MEN
1. SAURABH CHAUDHARY
2. ABHISHEK VERMA
SHAHZAR RIZVI – RESERVE SHOOTER
OM PRAKASH MITHARVAL – RESERVE SHOOTER
10M AIR RIFLE WOMEN
1. APURVI CHANDELA
2. ELAVENIL VALARIVAN
ANJUM MOUDGIL – RESERVE SHOOTER
SHREYA AGRAWAL – RESERVE SHOOTER
50M RIFLE 3 POSITION WOMEN
1. ANJUM MOUDGIL
2. TEJASWINI SAWANT
SUNIDHI CHAUHAN – RESERVE SHOOTER
GAAYATHRI N. – RESERVE SHOOTER
10M AIR PISTOL WOMEN
1. MANU BHAKER
2. YASHASWINI SINGH DESWAL
P. SHRI NIVETHA – RESERVE SHOOTER
SHWETA SINGH – RESERVE SHOOTER
25M SPORTS PISTOL WOMEN
1. RAHI SARNOBAT
2. MANU BHAKER
CHINKI YADAV – RESERVE SHOOTER
ABHIDNYA PATIL – RESERVE SHOOTER
SKEET MEN
1. ANGADVIR SINGH BAJWA
2. MAIRAJ AHMAD KHAN
GURJOAT SIINGH KHANGURA – RESERVE SHOOTER SHEERAZ SHEIKH – RESERVE SHOOTER
10M AIR RIFLE MIXED TEAM
1. DIVYANSH SINGH PANWAR
2. ELAVENIL VALARIVAN
1. DEEPAK KUMAR
2. ANJUM MOUDGIL
10M AIR PISTOL MIXED TEAM
1. SAURABH CHAUDHARY
2. MANU BHAKER
1. ABHISHEK VERMA
2. YASHASWINI SINGH DESWAL