India had a disappointing Monday with no shooter from the country making it to the Olympic quota. This was after the weekend high when India set two world records, courtesy of Apurvi Chandela (Women’s Air Rifle event) and Saurabh Chaudhary (10m Pistol event). The duo had also won gold and an Olympic quota as a result.
Disappointment for Ravi Kumar
The brightest prospect among others competing on Monday was Ravi Kumar. The 26-year-old had gone under the knife to get treated for buttock infection just weeks before the season-opening ISSF World Cup. However, according to the ace shooter, the move was ill-timed as Kumar’s “missed out on valuable training time.”
Scoring a total of 627, the Indian shooter finished a disheartening 14th in the men’s 10m air rifle event at the International Shooting Sports Federation World Cup in the New Delhi.
The defending national champion and World Cup bronze medallist has been impressive with his consistency ever since winning his first individual international medal – an Asian Airgun Championships bronze in 2017.
However, it was not his day on Monday at the Dr Karni Singh Shooting Range.
Also Read | Saurabh Chaudhary Sets World Record, Wins Shooting World Cup Gold
“He’d gone to Mumbai to participate in some competition. There, he caught a fever, for which he took an injection. It had an adverse reaction & he developed an infection. The area had to be operated after that,” Manoj Kumar, his personal coach, said.
As a result, Ravi will have to prepare for the next World Cup to earn a quota place in the 2020 Tokyo Olympic Games.
Five finals in the books, five to go, three on today's schedule. #ISSFWC pic.twitter.com/osIvoLMPos
— ISSF (@ISSF_Shooting) February 26, 2019
Along with him, both Divyansh Panwar (12th) and Deepak Kumar (34th) failed to qualify for the 10m Air Rifle Final.
Elsewhere, Gaayathri Nithyanandam is at the 10th place at the end of the second relay’s 50m rifle event with a score of 1166.
Tejaswini Sawant is rooted at the 35th with 1146 and is not expected to make it to the qualification round today.
Where to watch the ISSF World Cup?
The ISSF world cup will be telecasted live by Sony and Doordarshan. You can get to witness the live matches out there.
