How Indian shooters performed at European Championships as 'invited guests'

The Tokyo-bound Indian shooters competed at the 2021 European Shooting Championship as guest invitees and were not eligible for medals.

Saurabh Chaudhary and Elavenil Valarivan were the best among the squad. Manu Bhaker, Tejaswini Sawant, and Rahi Sarnobat also produced good showing. The tournament served as a preview of the Indian shooting team's preparation ahead of the Tokyo Olympics.

Saurabh Chaudhary and Elavenil Valarivan top the MQS category

Indian shooting star Saurabh Chaudhary had a stellar run at the European shooting championship. Chaudhary shot a terrific 589 in the 10m air pistol MQS event. Saurabh not only topped the MQS category but also shot more than anyone in the main qualification round. Juraj Tuzinsky, who won the gold medal, shot a 583 score in qualification.

While another Tokyo-bound pistol shooter, Abhishek Verma, shot a 579.

Elavenil Valarivan also put up a strong show in the 10m air rifle MQS event. She topped the MQS charts by shooting 630.4.

Muller Oceanne, who clinched the gold medal, shot a 629.7 in qualification. Another Indian shooter Apurvi Chandela finished with 627.9 in MQS.

Manu Bhaker and Rahi Sarnobat lead in 25m pistol MQS event

Manu Bhaker shot a 587, followed by Rahi Sarnobat, who scored a 584. The 25m pistol shooters produced a quality performance.

In the rapid-fire round, Manu shot two perfect 100s, taking her tally to 296/300. While Rahi scored, two 99s and a 95 and finished at 293/300. Among the Europeans were Olympic champion Anna Korakaki who shot a 581.

Tejaswini Sawant tops the chart in 50m rifle, prone MQS event

Tokyo-bound Tejaswini finished at the top of 50m rifle-prone, MQS event. Sawant shot a 622.7, while another shooter in the fray, Anjum Moudgil, shot a 619.2.

In the 50m rifle, 3P MQS event Aishwary Pratap shot 1173 points followed by Veteran shooter Sanjeev Rajput with 1162 points.

Anjum Moudgil improved her performance after a disappointment at the 2021 ISSF World Cup in New Delhi. Moudgil shot 1173, compared to 1162 in her outing in New Delhi. Sawant shot an 1172, just one point behind Anjum.

Divyansh Singh Panwar finishes second in the MQS category

Second-ranked in the world, 10m air rifle shooter Divyansh Singh Pawar finished at the second position in MQS with a 628.1. Another Indian in the fray Deepak Kumar shot a 627.4.

World number one Istvan Peni won the gold medal and shot a 629.9 in the qualification round.

Among those in the classy field was Olympic medalist Vladimir Maslennikov. Vladimir has been a strong competition to Indian shooting legend Abhinav Bindra. Russian shooter shot a 631.8 in the qualification round.

Yashaswini finished at fourth position

In the 10m air pistol women MQS event, Manu Bhaker, and Yashaswini Deswal had a decent outing. Manu finished at the third position with 573, followed by Deswal at the fourth position with 572. Manu Bhaker shot the same score as Olympic medalist Anna Korakaki.

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The 13-member Indian shooting squad had a decent outing at the European Shooting Championship. Some shooters performed exceptionally well, while others were also not far behind. Indian shooters are maintaining their consistency ahead of the 2021 Tokyo Olympics. Hopefully, the team will reach their peak performances at mega-quadrennial games.