Shooting stars: Rudraneil Sengupta, on an incredible sporting comeback

It takes courage and effort to rebound after losses as severe as those of the Tokyo Olympics. Yet India’s shooters aren’t just back, they’re better than before.

It’s been a record-setting year for Indian shooters.

At the end of the Paris Olympics qualification stage, 20 have won quotas for the Games from a maximum of 24 possible quota slots per country. That’s the most won by any nation except the sport’s undisputed powerhouse, China, which has 22.

It’s two more than the sport’s other powerhouse, USA. And it is a new record for India, surpassing the 15 shooters who made it to the Tokyo Olympics in 2021.