Shooters excel in China but Olympics will be real test

New Delhi: Indian shooters made a huge statement at the Asian Games, scripting a trail of success and returning home with an unprecedented 22 medals, the country’s best ever showing in the continental showpiece.

There was a feeling of invincibility every time Indian shooters took their designated spots on the ranges and matched their Chinese counterparts shot for shot.

With a tally like that -- six gold, nine silver and six bronze -- everyone can be proud of the achievements of the band of young shooters such as Rudrankksh Patil, Esha Singh, Aishwary Pratap Singh Tomar, to name a few.

Following the bumper harvest at the Asian Games, expectations of stellar performances at the 2024 Paris Olympics will grow, given that medals at the quadrennial global showpiece are the only ones that remain etched in the collective memory of the nation. To achieve those goals, and also to erase the memories of Indian marksmen returning empty-handed from the 2016 Rio and 2020 Tokyo Games, a lot still needs to be done.