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Indian shooters won three bronze medals in the 2024 Paris Olympics. Manu Bhaker bagged one bronze medal in the women’s 10 m air pistol event and one in the mixed 10 m air pistol team event with Sarabjot Singh, whereas Swapnil Kusale finished third in…Read More
Indian shooters won three medals in 2024 Paris Olympics. (Picture Credit: PTI)
2018 Asian Games silver medallist Deepak Kumar is happy with the rise of shooting as a sport in India and is hopeful about Indian shooters maintaining the good show of the 2024 Paris Olympics in upcoming major events as well. India won three bronze medals in the 2024 Paris Olympics. Manu Bhaker finished third in the women’s 10 m air pistol event, and then she teamed up with Sarabjot Singh to bag the bronze medal in the mixed 10 m air pistol team event.
Apart from her, Swapnil Kusale also won a bronze medal in the 50 m rifle three positions.
While speaking to News 18 during the inauguration ceremony of the state-of-the-art shooting range at GD Goenka Public School in Vasant Kunj, Deepak said, “If we look at the shooting as a sport in India today, then we can see that it is growing. And definitely, the results that have come so far. The seed was sown in 2004 when Rajyavardhan Singh Rathore won a medal (silver in 2004 Athens Olympics), and then Abhinav Indra won a gold medal in the (2008 Beijing) Olympics. In the 2012 London Olympics as well, the shooters showed their worth in front of the world.”
“In 2016 and 2021, we were a little behind because some situations were not in our favour. But in 2024, the shooters performed well. So, I see that according to a big vision, new shooting ranges are coming into the society. And the direction of the Government of India has also increased towards the shooters. So, I expect shooters to double the results that have come so far in next Olympics, and the shooters will definitely do this work,” he added.
The shooting range at GD Goneka Public School is an impressive, Olympic-size 10-meter facility, equipped with modern air rifles and air pistols, along with an advanced electronic target scoring system.
Another rising star in Indian shooting, Parth Makhija, Junior World Champion and leader of the Delhi shooting contingent at the Goa National Games, attended the event. Further adding to the prestige of the occasion was Ria Rajeshwari Kumari, international trap shooter, silver medallist at the 2022 Asian Games, and 2024 Olympian, currently ranked 9th in the world.
In a recent interview, Rajeshwari highlighted the growing enthusiasm for the shooting sport in India. The athlete stated that the national championship witnessed a record 7,000 entries, and the number could have been much higher during qualifications.
