Shooters will have to raise their game to win LA Olympic quota places

The ISSF World Championships in Doha starting Tuesday will offer the first 36 quota places for the LA Olympics.

Indian shooters will hope to put behind their below-par performance at the Asian Games and raise their game to secure LA Olympic quota places at the ISSF World Championships in Doha, beginning on Tuesday.

Neeru Dhandha had recently won gold at the Asian Games. (PTI)

Thirty-six LA Games quota spots will be up for grabs across 12 Olympic events. The first three shooters in each event will win an Olympic quota place for their country, with the restriction that each nation can secure only one quota place per event. The contests are expected to be fierce, with 12 individual Olympic champions in the fray.

Manu Bhaker, who claimed two Olympic bronze medals at the 2024 Paris Olympics, will compete in both the 10m air pistol and 25m pistol events. She will be looking to bounce back from a disappointing showing at the Asian Games. Esha Singh and TS Divya are the other Indians in 25m sports pistol, while Suruchi Singh and Sainyam will compete for quota places in the 10m air pistol. Suruchi won mixed team gold at the Asian Games, while both shooters impressed with their international performances last year.

The one who will carry plenty of confidence into Doha is trap shooter Neeru Dhanda, who delivered an exceptional performance at Aichi-Nagoya, winning individual and mixed team gold medals.

There are a few changes to the Indian squad from the Asian Games, based on the rankings, with greater experience in the ranks. Seasoned Anjum Moudgil, a two-time Olympian and a world championships medallist in 2018, has made the cut in the women's rifle three positions event. The men's rifle three positions team will also feature Akhil Sheoran, another experienced campaigner and a world championships medallist. Sheoran had secured an Olympic quota place for India ahead of the Paris Olympics but lost his place in the team in the Olympic selection trials. He will look to bounce back from that disappointment and secure an Olympic quota place for India early.

World Championships silver medallist Aishwary Pratap Singh Tomar and Niraj Kumar are also in the rifle three positions event. Both were part of the team, alongside Rudrankksh Patil, that won silver at the Asian Games. Aishwary and Niraj qualified for the individual finals but failed to win a medal.

"The shooters have learnt from the experience at the Asian Games. They need to follow the process and not get overwhelmed by the expectations. They got some time to recover and then there was a short camp. As a squad, we are hoping to win three to four quota places," rifle head coach Manoj Kumar said.

Zoravar Singh Sandhu, bronze medallist in trap at the previous edition, returns to the Indian team for the Doha championships.

The first day will feature the finals of the men's and women's 10m air rifle events. There will be high expectations from Elavenil Valarivan, a two-time Olympian who won individual silver at the Asian Games, in addition to a team silver. Sonam Uttam Maskar, who was also part of the silver-winning team, will compete in Doha alongside 18-year-old Shambhavi Kshirsagar, who enjoyed a good run in world junior competitions.

In the men's 10m air rifle, the onus will be on Himanshu Dhillon, the Asian Games silver medallist, Parth Mane and Paarth Makhija to secure an Olympic quota place for India.