Anjum Moudgil has been denied a chance to compete in 10m air rifle at the Tokyo Olympics after her quota was handed over to World No. 1 Elavenil Valarivan. The 10m air rifle prodigy Elavenil was the only shooter to make it to the 15-member Indian team without an Olympic quota.
In another significant development, the quota won by Chinki Yadav in the women's 25m pistol would be swapped for Anjum to help her compete in the rifle 3-positions event. She will join former world champion Tejaswini Sawant for the event.
Elavenil and Divyansh Singh Panwar will form India's first mixed air rifle team at the Tokyo Olympics. Anjum will also be a part of the mixed team alongside Deepak Kumar.
Pistol ace Manu Bhaker will compete in both the women’s 10m air pistol and the 25m pistol individual events. She will team up with Saurabh Chaudhary to compete in the mixed air pistol event.
The 2014 Commonwealth Games gold medalist Apurvi Chandela will only compete in the women’s 10m air rifle individual event at the Tokyo Olympics.
Also Read: Tokyo Olympics 2021: India's biggest medal prospects in shooting events
Keeping the health safety concerns and security in mind amid Covid-19 crisis, the National Rifle Association of India (NRAI) will keep two reserve shooters in each discipline.
India ended its campaign with the highest-ever medal tally in the ISSF Shooting World Cup last month. It grabbed the global spotlight by pocketing a combined haul of 30 medals, including 15 gold, 9 silver, and 6 bronze.
This was India's sixth successive first-place finish in the ISSF competitions in the rifle and pistol events. Topping the medal tallies at the Shooting World Cups since 2019, India has established its supremacy in shooting over the years.
Also Read: Tokyo Olympics 2021 will be our best-ever Olympic performance, says shooter Abhishek Verma
Indian shooting squad for the Tokyo Olympics
Women
10m air rifle: Apurvi Chandela, Elavenil Valarivan
Reserves: Anjum Moudgil, Shreya Agrawal
50m rifle 3-position: Anjum Moudgil, Tejaswini Sawant
Reserves: Sunidhi Chauhan, Gaayathri Nithyanandam
10m air pistol: Manu Bhaker, Yashaswini Singh Deswal
Reserves: P Shri Nivetha, Shweta Singh
25m sports pistol: Rahi Sarnobat, Manu Bhaker
Reserves: Chinki Yadav, Abhidnya Patil
Men
10m air rifle: Divyansh Singh Panwar, Deepak Kumar
Reserves: Sandeep Singh, Aishwary Pratap Singh Tomar
50m rifle 3-position: Sanjeev Rajput, Aishwary Pratap Singh Tomar
Reserves: Swapnil Kusale, Chain Singh
10m air pistol: Saurabh Chaudhary, Abhishek Verma.
Reserves: Shahzar Rizvi, Om Prakash Mitharval
Skeet: Angad Vir Singh Bajwa, Mairaj Ahmad Khan
Reserves: Gurjoat Singh Khangura, Sheeraz Sheikh
Mixed Team
10m air rifle: Divyansh Singh Panwar & Elavenil Valarivan / Deepak Kumar & Anjum Moudgil
10m air pistol: Saurabh Chaudhary & Manu Bhaker / Abhishek Verma & Yashaswini Singh Deswal