Shooters ready for last chance

PUNE: Shagun Chowdhary had created history of sorts when she became the first Indian woman trap shooter to qualify for the Olympics. She represented India in the London Games and almost after four years down the line, the onus is once again on the Jaipur girl to give India another shot at the mega event.
As the last qualifying event for Rio Games, the Asian Olympic shooting qualifiers, begins at the Karni Singh shooting range in Tughlakabad on Wednesday.Shagun, along with Rajeshwari Kumari and Shreyasi Singh, will vie for one quota available in the event.
Shagun will face a strong field and anything below gold would be meaningless. "It is going to be a strong fight, since only three quotas have been won by Asian shooters so far. All the participants in my event will be hungry to grab the last available spot and only a top finish can ensure the quota on Wednesday," Shagun told TOI.
Japan, Chinese Taipei and North Korea have won a quota each in the event.
Considering Delhi's weather, chances of fog may also add to the list of challenges Shagun and Co.will face. "The range was under renovation and was made open for us only four days ago, so the home advantage is lost," she said.
Another London Olympics participant, Heena Sidhu, will shoot on Wednesday to secure a berth in the women's 10m air pistol event. Heena, who had won the gold medal in the 13th Asian Shooting Championships in Kuwait in November last year, said she is not thinking too much about the pressure and will take the match as it progresses.
"I had won gold in Kuwait and the field would be more or less the same here. I am hoping for the best but at the same time, I am not dwelling too much on it," Heena said.
The Kuwait meet was originally the last Olympic qualifier but the International Olympic Committee (IOC) revoked the event's Olympic status and selected New Delhi as the new host. Along with Heena, national champion Shweta Singh and young and promising Haryana shooter Yashaswini Deswal will aim for two berths available.
The third event scheduled on the day is men's 50m rifle prone. Gagan Narang has already won one of the two quotas a country can win and Army's Sushil Ghalay, Swapnil Kusale and Surendra Sinh Rathod will shoot for one more quota. Eleven Indians had taken part in the London Games, and the contingent is hoping to better that mark. So far, eight Indian shooters have secured Rio quotas.
"We can win at least 15 quota places here if our shooters perform to potential," NRAI president Raninder Singh said.