India at Olympics 2021: 3 takeaways from the women's 50m rifle 3 positions event as Anjum Moudgil, Tejaswini Sawant fail to qualify for the final

Anjum Moudgil and Tejaswini Sawant ended their campaign in the qualification stage of the women’s 50m rifle 3 positions event at Olympics 2021. Neither of them could feature in the top-8 shooter final.

With 1167-54x/1200 points, the World No. 27 Anjum Moudgil finished in 15th place while the World No.28 Tejaswini Sawant scored 1154-50x/1200 points to secure the 33rd spot in the field of 37 shooters.

Here are three key takeaways from women’s 50m rifle 3 positions event:

#1 Anjum Moudgil gave her all:

Throughout the qualification round, the 27-year-old Anjum Moudgil was in strong contention for the 8-shooter final. The split-up of her score is as follows:

Kneeling - 99, 98, 96, 97 Total - 390/400 points

Prone - 98, 100, 98, 99 Total - 395/400 points

Standing - 94, 96, 95, 97 Total - 382/400 points

Anjum Moudgil did exceptionally well in her "prone" position. She even shot a perfect 2nd series of 100 points during it. Before she began her "standing" position, she was ranked 6th in the qualification leaderboard.

Anjum has a decent chance to make it to the Finals of 50m 3 position W. All she needs a strong Standing 40 shots.. I think 388 is an achievable and practical score to make it. #shooting #teamindia

— Joydeep Karmakar OLY (@Joydeep709) July 31, 2021

However, a slow start to her "standing" round proved to be costly. Apart from numerous 9’s, Anjum Moudgil shot a couple of 8’s as well.

Despite shooting a better score in comparison to the two ISSF World Cups this year, Anjum Moudgil couldn’t progress past the qualification round of women’s 50m rifle 3 positions event at the 2021 Olympics.

#2 Tejaswini Sawant couldn’t rise to the occasion:

The Commonwealth Games gold medallist of 2018 had a lot of expectations riding on her shoulders. In a career spanning more than a decade now, she was up against the Olympic challenge for the first time today. The break-up of her score is:

Kneeling - 97, 92, 98, 97 Total - 384/400 points

Prone - 99, 98, 99, 98 Total - 394/400 points

Standing - 94, 93, 95, 94 Total - 376/400 points

Her 2nd series of mere 92/100 points in the 'kneeling' position pulled her back. She did bounce back with some great precision. However, her "standing" position aggregate was too low to propel her into the top-8 shooter bracket.

#3 Sanjeev Rajput and Aishwary Pratap Singh Tomar are India’s final hopes:

The Indian Shooting team raised a lot of expectations during this Olympic cycle. However, their efforts couldn’t culminate into the desired results. They are yet to secure any medals at the on-going Olympics.

The last event featuring Indian representation is the men’s 50m rifle 3 positions event at the Olympics 2021. Sanjeev Raput and Aishwary Pratap Singh Tomar will be aiming to salvage some pride from an otherwise disappointing campaign.

Aishwary Pratap Singh Tomar will make his debut Olympic appearance in Tokyo. Sanjeev Rajput has competed in the Beijing Olympics 2008 and London Olympics 2012. This will be his third quest to win that elusive medal.

Qualifications along with the final of men’s 50m rifle 3 positions is scheduled for 2nd August, Monday.