Three Indian women air pistol shooters are poised to embark on their journey to secure the remaining quota place in the pistol discipline as the ISSF Final Olympic Qualification Championship Rifle/Pistol kicks off in Rio De Janeiro, Brazil, starting Friday.
The trio comprises two teenagers, Asian Games champion Palak, and Sainyam from Chandigarh, along with Palak’s teammate from Haryana, Surbhi Rao. They are all set to vie for the second Paris Olympics quota place in Women’s 10m Air Pistol.
This would mark India’s 20th quota place in Shooting, paving the way for a potential 24th and 25th start for the squad in Paris by the end of July.
Indian shooters have already clinched a record 19 quota places for the Paris 2024 Games, encompassing eight in Rifle, seven in Pistol, and four in Shotgun disciplines. Earlier this year, Esha Singh secured the first Women’s Air Pistol quota place with a gold medal finish at the Asia Olympic Qualifiers in Jakarta.
Palak, Sainyam, and Surbhi, currently ranked third, fifth, and sixth in the discipline in India, will take aim on Saturday for the qualification round. The top eight qualifiers will then proceed to the final slated for Sunday. The trio is accompanied by two coaches and a physio.
The 10m Air Pistol Mixed Team event marks the first final scheduled on the opening day of competitions on Friday. A total of 466 athletes from 76 nations are set to enter the fray.
