Four Indian shooters secure Paris Olympics berths in 25m Pistol category

Esha Singh, Manu Bhaker, Anish Bhanwala, and Vijayveer Sidhu secured coveted Olympic quotas in the 25m women’s and men’s pistol categories at the Olympic Selection Trials (OST 4) held at the MP Shooting Academy in Bhopal on Monday.

Esha Singh demonstrated her skill in the women’s 25m pistol event, delivering an outstanding performance with a score of 43 in the finals of the OST T3, on Sunday.

All five shooters, competing in both men's and women's categories, are gearing up for the final at the M.P. State Shooting Academy ranges on Tuesday. Initially, Anish Bhanwala held a commanding four-point lead after the first precision stage, but Adarsh managed to edge past him on countback, both posting scores of 583 with identical hits in the inner 10-ring.

Ankur Goel matched their score but fell short on inner-ring hits, while Vijayveer Sidhu claimed fourth place with 581 points, narrowly surpassing Bhavesh Shekhawat. In the women's event, Olympian Manu outdid Esha Singh in inner-10s after both recorded an impressive 586 points.

Rhythm Sangwan secured third place, followed by Abhidnya Patil (582) and Simranpreet Kaur Brar (564) in fourth and fifth positions respectively. According to the cumulative scores, Manu and Esha lead the women's event, while Anish and Vijayveer hold the top positions in the men's Rapid Fire Pistol, regardless of the final outcomes.

The final selection for the Paris Olympics team will be announced after the selection committee convenes following the trials.