The air rifle shooters of the Indian Shooting team will be in action in the 10m air rifle mixed event at Olympics 2021 on 27th July, Tuesday.
Divyansh Singh Panwar will be paired up with Elavenil Valarivan. The second Indian combination will be Deepak Kumar and Anjum Moudgil for this event. It will be World No.3 Anjum Moudgil’s debut Olympic appearance. She wasn’t included in the line-up for the 10m air rifle women event.
Divyansh Singh Panwar, Deepak Kumar and Elavenil Valarivan exited in the qualification rounds of their individual events and failed to reach the finals. World No.2 Divyansh Singh Panwar finished 32nd while World No.11 Deepak Kumar did marginally better than him, claiming the 26th position.
Elavenil Valarivan, the World No.1, couldn’t deliver as per the expectations either. She was ranked 16th in the qualification leaderboard. The onus is now on them to bag medals in the 10m mixed rifle event of the Olympics 2021.
In 2018, the ISSF (International Shooting Sport Federation) made an addition of "Mixed Team" discipline to the list of Olympic events. Olympics 2021 will be the first instance which will include this newly adopted event.
The top 8 from the 29 participating teams in qualification stage 1 will advance to qualification stage 2. Of the remaining 8 teams, the top-4 will be decided in the qualification stage 2. The gold medal match and the bronze medal of the final will determine the podium standings.
Both the qualification stages, along with the final, will be played on Tuesday, 27th July. The timings are as follows as per Indian Standard Time:
Qualification stage 1 - 9:45 a.m.
Qualification stage 2 - 10:30 a.m.
Final - 11:45 a.m.
Prediction for Divyansh Singh Panwar and Elavenil Valarivan in the 10m mixed air rifle event of Olympics 2021
Divyansh Singh Panwar and Elavenil Valarivan have good experience of competing as a pair in this event. Divyansh Singh Panwar and Elavenil Valarivan have shown their mettle in this event since their junior days,. In the first combined ISSF World Cup of 2021 in New Delhi, the Indian the pair clinched the gold medal.
Read: Who is Divyansh Singh Panwar? 5 things you didn't know about India's shooting medal prospect?
It will be an opportunity for them to make amends for their dismal show in their respective individual events. Deepak Kumar and Anjum Moudgil haven’t teamed up consistently. Apurvi Chandela used to be Deepak Kumar’s regular partner. However, the NRAI (National Rifle Association of India) made a tactical decision of replacing Apurvi with Anjum based on recent form.
The two Indian pairs will face a stern test from the likes of the Chinese, Koreans and Americans to name a few. It will be fascinating to watch how India’s young guns rise to the challenge!