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Pistol shooters Esha, Varun win Olympic quotas
The youngsters won the women's and men's 10m air pistol event at the Asian qualifying event in Jakarta, taking India's total Paris Games berths to 15
Shooters Esha Singh and Varun Tomar have only a year's age gap, but their journeys to securing the coveted Paris Olympics quotas on Monday with gold in the women's and men's 10m air pistol event at the Jakarta Asian Qualifiers have been very different.
Esha, 19, has been competing on the international circuit for six years now. Considering that she came to limelight in 2018 when, as an immensely talented 13-year-old, she became national champion, it has been a long road for the teenager. The 20-year-old Varun, who took up pistol shooting inspired by his cousin, Tokyo Olympian Saurabh Chaudhary, broke into the junior national team only in 2022. Since then, it has been a rapid rise for him.
The shooting fraternity was confident Esha would seal a Paris Olympics quota, but the going was tough for her last year until a stellar show at the Hangzhou Asian Games put her back on track. Yet, the yearend World Cup Finals left her disappointed as she finished 13th with a score of 571/600 in qualification in 10m air pistol.
Going into the Olympic qualifiers, Esha was under pressure; the nerves were jangling at the start. "The qualification was tough. It wasn't going as I had expected but once I made it to the final, I was able to handle the pressure well," said Esha, who qualified in sixth place with a score of 578. Two other Indians, Rhythm Sangwan and Surbhi Bharadwaj, shot better (579), qualifying third and fifth.
"The Asian Games helped me get that confidence because it was the first time I was making an appearance in a multi-disciplinary event and it was very satisfying." She won four medals, including the 10m air pistol individual silver.
Her first three shots in qualification on Monday were 9, 8 and 9 and it was not the beginning she would have wanted on an important day. "I have never seen her so flustered," says former international shooter and pistol coach Ronak Pandit.
"There was pressure to seal that quota. She took her time, taking long breaks and came behind to talk with the coaches at least seven or eight times. She fought it through. Gradually she was shooting better and the last three series was a game-changer," Pandit said from Jakarta.
Esha gives credit to the national coaches for working on the technical part of her game. “Ronak sir and Ved Prakash have been helping me with some technical changes and the result showed today.”
In the final, Esha was right on top, finishing with 243.1 points to win gold and the quota place. The second quota went to Pakistan's Kishmala Talat, who was second (236.3). Rhythm was third (214.5). Esha's was the first of two quotas in women's air pistol.
"We got a good three weeks before the qualifier and worked on Esha's triggering and gripping. We worked on the basics and she was able to understand where she needed to improve. She is very intelligent and has been shooting for a long time, so she has the maturity and she showed that today," Ronak said.
Varun's rise in shooting has been rapid.
"When you have a world class shooter like Saurabh in the family you don't have to look anywhere else for inspiration. He has told me to be focused. My family wanted me to take up the sport after Saurabh's success and I followed his path. I started in the same range," said Varun, an Army marksman.
Varun has developed a calm demeanor like Chaudhary. He topped the qualification with a score of 586, and it was a fight with compatriot Arjun Singh Cheema in the final to seal the quota. Varun won the final with a score of 239.6 while Cheema was second (237.3).
“Last year was my first year in the senior team. I have gained experience. It is a good feeling to win a Paris Olympics quota, but this is part of the journey. The real deal is the Olympics," he said.
Indian shooters have now bagged 15 Olympic quotas, like they did for the 2021 Tokyo Games. In the coming days, they will be looking to add a few more.
