Shooting: Tejaswini Sawant wins India’s 12th Olympic quota place

Reigning CWG gold medalist Tejaswini Sawant booked a flight to her first Olympic Games in Tokyo and country's record 12th quota place when she finished fourth in the women’s 50m Rifle 3 Positions final on day five of the ongoing 14th Asian Shooting Championship in Qatar on Saturday. She did miss out on an individual medal eventually, but en route to the final, the seasoned rifle shooter from Kolhapur, had already secured India’s 12thTokyo 2020 Olympic quota place in Shooting.

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India add nine medals including three golds to their tally

India also won nine more medals in all competitions throughout the day including three more gold medals. The day belonged to the valiant Tejaswini, currently ranked 95th in women’s 3P, who lifted her game when it mattered most. She shot a tactically fast-paced 1171 in the gruelling 120-shot qualification round across the three positions of Kneeling, Prone, and Standing, to deliver a virtuoso performance. The score was way above her previous best score in qualification in this new longer format introduced only in this current Olympic cycle, helping her finish fifth to ease into the final. She ended the final with a score of 435.8, missing out narrowly on a medal as Shi Mengyao of China won gold with 457.9. 

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Tejaswini's hard work pays off

Tejaswini was not denied a medal on the day though, combining with her younger but higher-ranked compatriots to lead the way to a team bronze in women’s 3P. Kajal Saini who finished a creditable 13th with a score of 1167 and N. Gaayathri who also ended a fine 16th with 1165, were the other two making up the trio. India also continued its pursuit of an Olympic quota in Shotgun with the Men’s Skeet team well in contention after day one of qualification on Saturday. Join world record holder Angad Bajwa missed one bird out of 75 while Olympian Mairaj Ahmed Khan missed two and Smit Singh missed three, to be well in contention. The Skeet finals will follow two more rounds of 25 targets each in qualification on Sunday, day six of competitions. Darshana Rahore was the best Indian in Women’s Skeet, her score of 69 placing her 12th, while Ganemat Shekhon shot 66 to lie 17th and Saniya Sheikh 65, to be in 18th position.

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