Varun and Esha seal Olympic berth in Shooting
New Delhi: Pistol shooters Varun Tomar and Esha Singh were in superb form and sealed the 14th and 15th quota places for India at the Paris Olympics. On Monday in Jakarta, at the Asian qualifiers, first it was 20-year-old Varun who showed mettle in firing with his air pistol to seal gold.
Varun, cousin of seasoned shooter Saurabh Chaudhary has been in good form since 2023. He won two bronze medals in the last season, in Bhopal and Cairo, both ISSF World Cups.
Carrying such form into Jakarta, Varun exploded into brilliance on a busy day where his qualification score was 568 points. It was emphatic and engaging, the way he shot. Once into the final, Varun was again composed and soaked in all the pressure like a sponge. His score in the high intensity final was 239.6“There are always nerves,” said Varun, when asked about his start in the final.
“Last year was my first year in the senior team and after a good start, there was a bit of up and down as I felt I was gaining experience. It is evident that hard work in training has paid off. I am happy to win the quota place for India,” said Varun.
Being in the Indian Army, Varun gets ample time to train. There is a huge system in place. Yet, the big challenge is to peak on the big stage, which he did on Monday when the focus was on a quota place for India.
In the women’s air pistol event, young Esha Singh, who was in blazing form at the Asian Games in Hangzhou last year, shot gold and won a quota place, the 15th for India.
Her form may have been up and down early in a field where the other Indians – Rhythm Sangwan and Surbi -- were also in the reckoning.
Esha was the lowest ranked of the three Indians to qualify, with a score of 578 giving her sixth spot. Both Rhythm and Surbhi shot 579 for third and fifth spots.
Rhythm was also the strongest to start the final with a 10.6, which Esha managed in her second.
However, it was Kishmala Talat, the Asian Games bronze medallist from Pakistan, who started off the strongest of the eight shooters, logging a 52.4 for her first five shots. Rhythm was second, also managing above 50 while Esha at this stage was third and Surbhi fifth. The second five-shot series saw three shots of 10.9 from different shooters, but the one on Esha’s sixth propelled her to the lead ahead of Talat.
A 10.8 for her 11th gave early indications of Esha threatening to pull away. With Surabhi already eliminated, India’s quest for a second consecutive double podium was confirmed as Rhythm psyched out Korean Kim Bomi after the 20th shot. Esha eventually finished with 243.1 points.
“I didn’t know I was that far ahead. I did see some good shots going and I think I must have shot my best-ever final, I’ll have to check,” said Esha.
“I am just so thankful to my team here at NRAI and all the support we have been getting. The training has been so well planned and I am just so grateful,” she concluded.
