Olympic Shooting Trials end, Indian team heads to Munich for World Cup

Bhopal: A couple of goodbyes and messages of "see you soon" were heard as the final trial of the Olympic Shooting Trials (OST) concluded at the Madhya Pradesh Shooting Academy in Bhopal on Sunday.

With the trials done and dusted, the Indian shooting team looks set according to the leaderboard. The Selection Committee of the NRAI is expected to meet soon and formally announce the squad.

The last final concluded the 32-trial event, which was spread across eight individual Rifle and Pistol Olympic events. The first two trials took place at New Delhi’s Dr. Karni Singh Shooting Range before moving to Bhopal.

Arjun Babuta, who appears poised to compete in the 2024 Paris Olympics in the 10m Air Rifle event, mentioned that he will rest and relax before gearing up for the upcoming Munich ISSF World Cup.

"I will go back home and relax for a bit. The trials were long and I need some time to recharge before thinking about the Munich World Cup," he said after the final trial.

While Arjun is heading home, his coach Deepali Deshpande will go to Pune to check the new kits arriving for Arjun and another of her disciples, Swapnil Suresh Kusale, who has secured his place in the 50m 3 Positions event.

"It was a long process, but we are well placed in terms of our shooting team. I am really happy that all my students are going. We just need to work on a couple of technical things before they are ready for the big event," said Deepali.

Manu Bhaker emerged as the most successful shooter

Tokyo Olympian Manu Bhaker emerged as the most successful shooter from the trials, winning four trials across two events and securing her place in the 2024 Paris Olympics.

On the last day, Manu shot a score of 240.8 to win the final trial of the 10m air pistol, emerging as the overall winner. She will be competing in three events at Paris: 10m air pistol, 10m air pistol mixed team, and 25m rapid-fire pistol.

"Honestly, I can't choose which event is my favorite, but I am looking forward to competing in all of them. Three events mean that I have to work harder to compete in them," Manu told The Bridge.

In the women's 10m air rifle, Elavenil Valarivan reigned supreme by shooting 254.3, which is 0.3 points above the current world record of 254.0.

"I am very excited and happy that these trials have concluded. I am satisfied with my performance. We have Munich next, and I think I will relax a bit before that," said Elavenil.

What next for Indian shooters?

Following their trials, the Indian shooters will head to Munich, Germany to participate in the ISSF World Cup Rifle/Pistol from 31st May to 08th June. 

The Indian shooting team is expected to be announced by the first week of June after the selection committee meeting convenes.