At 18, shooter Divyansh Singh Panwar's extraordinary talent makes him a medal hope for Tokyo Olympics

The youngest member of the team, Divyansh Singh Panwar, is just 18 years old. However, don't look at his age, Panwar has been very successful in a brief period. The 10m air rifle shooter is currently at the world's second rank.

Started shooting at 12, entering Olympics at 18

Divyansh hails from Jaipur and started his shooting career in 2014 at Jangpura shooting range at 12. While since his childhood Divyansh had an interest in shooting, as his father drew targets for him and he would shoot with plastic guns.

His father saw his talent and shifted his base to Delhi for training under Deepak Kumar Dubey at Karni Singh Range. Since 2018, Divyansh has been consistently producing excellent performances. In the 2018 ISSF Junior World Cup, he clinched the gold medal in 10m air rifle men's event.

Within a year, Panwar became the gold prodigy of India. Rifle shooter bagged the gold medal at ISSF World Cup Final and Asian Games 2019. Divyansh sealed the Olympic birth by clinching the silver medal at the ISSF World Cup, Beijing 2019. Adding to his achievements, he also won the 2019 Golden Target Award, given to best shooters of the year.

To date, Divyansh has grabbed 7 gold, 2 silver, and 2 bronze medals on international grounds. Astonishingly, the young shooter has been on the top podium finish many times. The 18-year- old's journey has inspired many young shooters around the nation.

2021 outings of Tokyo bound shooter

Divyansh started the year by sitting at the world's top position in the 10m air rifle men's event. After a long pandemic, shooters competed at the ISSF World Cup, New Delhi.

Panwar clinched the bronze medal in the men's individual event and the gold medal in the 10m air rifle mixed event alongside Elavenil Valarivan.

During the recently concluded ISSF World Cup in Croatia, Divyansh couldn't reach the final event as he shot a 624.7 in the qualification event. Nevertheless, with his past performances and experience, Divyansh has a chance of winning if he repeats his medal-winning performance in Tokyo.

10m air rifle men's category is the only individual event where India has won Olympic gold. Looking at Divyansh's career young boy has defeated world top shooters like Istvan Peni and also broken the world record.

If not in the individual event, Divyansh has a strong foot in 10m air rifle mixed event pairing up with another world top Indian shooter Elavenil Valarivan. Competing in his maiden Olympics at 18, Divyansh has the potential to become the Olympic champion in the future.