Jakarta [Indonesia], January 8 (ANI): Indian shooters Varun Tomar and Esha Singh on Monday secured Paris 2024 Olympic quotas for India after clinching the gold medals respectively in their men’s and women’s 10m air pistol events at the ongoing Asian Olympic Qualifier Rifle and Pistol event in Jakarta, Indonesia.
With this, India now have 15 quotas in shooting for the Paris 2024 Olympics so far. Despite a shaky beginning in the final, Esha displayed brilliance in the second series and beyond. However, Rhythm Sangwan narrowly missed out despite leading her Pakistani opponent until the last 2 shots.
After topping qualification with a score of 586, Tomar pipped compatriot Arjun Singh Cheema in the final.
Tomar made a fine comeback from a jittery start to shoot a 239.6 in the final while Cheema managed 237.3 to settle for the silver medal. Mongolia’s Davaakhuu Enkhtaivan took bronze. At the 2023 Asian Shooting Championships in Changwon, Sarabjot Singh had acquired a Paris 2024 quota for the country in the discipline.
In the women’s event, three Indians – Esha Singh, Rhythm Sangwan and Surbhi Rao – moved into the finals. Esha took the medal round by storm and bagged the gold medal with a score of 243.1, beating Pakistan’s Kishmala Talat (236.3).
Sangwan with a score of 214.5 managed to secure the bronze in the event. Esha’s quota was India’s first Paris 2024 quota in the women’s 10m air pistol event. India will have more chances to add two more quotas in the men’s and women’s 25m pistol events from the ongoing Jakarta meet. South Korea and Indonesia completed the podium. (ANI)
