NRAI gives shooters fresh Rio Olympics chance

PUNE: When rifle shooter Sanjeev Rajput was dropped from the Indian team before the Gabala World Cup, he wasn't sure whether he would get another shot at the Rio Olympics quota.
Now, it seems Rajput, who represented India in London Olympics, still has a chance to win a quota. The National Rifle Association of India (NRAI) has decided not to field shooters who have already earned Rio quotas in the last qualifying event, the Asian Shooting Championships to be held in Tehran in October.
NRAI's move will allow more shooters to aim for Olympic quotas and increase the number. So far only five Indian shooters have qualified for the Rio Olympics. The total number of Indians to qualify for London Games was 11.
"The Asian meet being the last qualifying event, we wanted to give chance to more shooters who couldn't participate in the World Cups because of their domestic ranking. With five already having qualified, those who are below them will get a chance," NRAI secretary Rajiv Bhatia told TOI.
Abhinav Bindra and Gagan Narang have already qualified for the Rio Games and if they step aside, Rajput can come back in the team and participate in the Asian meet. Same will be the case for pistol shooters. With Jitu Rai and Gurpreet Singh having won pistol quotas already, shooters like Harpreet Singh and Samaresh will get the chance for vie for a quota at the Asian meet.
Jung, 45, is a CWG and Asian Games medallist, while Harpreet, 35, has won medals at the CWG.
Interestingly, Asian Championships is seen as the easiest platform to qualify for the Olympics, as most shooters from China and South Korea already qualify by the time this event comes. So, even if the medals go to Chinese or Korean shooters, a fifth or sixth finish could fetch quota places for shooters from other countries.