Paris Olympics | Will the ‘nucleus of Indian sports’ live up to its title?

Indian shooting squad aims to elevate Indian sports with Olympic medals in Paris, showcasing depth and talent in shooters.

The health of Indian sports will largely depend on the contribution of Olympic medals by the shooters in the Paris Games.

It may sound ironical that a sport that has brought nought from the last two Games in Rio and Tokyo, finds itself as the nucleus of Indian sports.

There will be 21 shooters, the best from any country including China, competing for 27 medals. Can quality come from quantity? Can there be another gold medal from shooting, the way Abhinav Bindra won by asserting his mastery in air rifle in the Beijing Games in 2008.

Bindra was building on the strong foundation laid by Rajyavardhan Rathore with the silver medal in double trap in the Athens Games in 2004.

Double trap does not figure any more in the Olympic program, but Vijay Kumar and Gagan Narang had sustained the legacy by winning the silver in rapid fire pistol and bronze in air rifle in the London Games in 2012.

Indian shooting will look to air rifle shooters Sandeep Singh, Arjun Babuta, Elavenil Valarivan and Ramita Jindal to deliver the first medal, as the schedule starts with mixed air rifle on July 27.

The air pistol qualification will also be on the opening day, but this time all finals are scheduled on the day after qualification.