India's shooting team for Tokyo Olympics: World rankings and full list of qualified athletes

Shooting has been India’s strong suit in the past few editions of the Olympics and it’s not going to be an exception this time either. A total of 15 Indian shooters have qualified for the 2021 Tokyo Olympics.

Rajyavardhan Singh Rathod claimed India’s first-ever medal in shooting, having won silver in the Double Trap event at the 2004 Athens Olympics. While that was a landmark achievement in itself, it also set the tone for future generations.

Abhinav Bindra bettered it with a first-place finish in the Men’s 10m Air Pistol event at the 2008 Beijing Olympics. The historic feat marked India’s first individual gold medal win in the quadrennial spectacle.

It was a double delight at the 2012 London Olympics, with veteran shooter Gagan Narang claiming a bronze medal in the 10m Air Rifle event, while Vijay Kumar secured a silver medal finish in the 25m Rapid Fire Pistol event.

However, the shooters came back empty handed from the 2016 Rio Olympics.

The 2021 Tokyo Olympics is expected to be India’s best outing at the quadrennial event. Having performed exceedingly well at the 2021 ISSF World Cup, Indian shooters have raised hopes ahead of the postponed Games, which will begin on July 23.

Despite several roadblocks posed by the current pandemic situation, the Indian shooters are training in full force, with less than 50 days left for the mega-event to kick-start. While the rifle and pistol shooters have shifted their training base to Croatia, the skeet shooters are training with their respective coaches in Italy.

The Indian contingent will participate in the upcoming ISSF World Cup, in Osijek from June 22 – July 3, as part of their last lap of preparations ahead of the 2021 Tokyo Olympics.

Let's have a look at the 15 shooters to have qualified for the 2021 Tokyo Olympics along with their rankings:

Men’s

Sanjeev Rajput (centre) will feature in his third Olympics

Saurabh Chaudhary

Events - 10m Men’s Air Pistol, Individual and Mixed Team

World Ranking: 2

Abhishek Verma

Events - 10m Men’s Air Pistol, Individual and Mixed Team

World Ranking: 1

Deepak Kumar

Events - 10m Men’s Air Rifle, Individual and Mixed Team

World Ranking: 11

Divyansh Singh Panwar

Events - 10m Men’s Air Rifle, Individual and Mixed Team

World Ranking: 2

Sanjeev Rajput

Event - 50m Men’s Rifle 3 Position, Individual

World Ranking: 6

Aishwary Pratap Singh Tomar

Event - 50m Men’s Rifle 3 Position, Individual

World Ranking: 2

Angad Veer Singh Bajwa

Event - Men’s Skeet, Individual

World Ranking: 62

Mairaj Ahmad Khan

Event - Men’s Skeet Individual

World Ranking: 24

---

Women’s

Manu Bhaker is one of India's major medal prospects at the 2021 Tokyo Olympics

Manu Bhaker

Events - 10m Women’s Air Pistol, Individual and 25m Pistol Women, Individual and Mixed Team

World Ranking: 2

Yashaswini Singh Deswal

Events - 10m Women’s Air Pistol, Individual and Mixed Team

World Ranking: 1

Apurvi Chandela

Event - 10m Women’s Air Rifle, Individual

World Ranking: 11

Elavenil Valarivan

Events - 10m Women’s Air Rifle, Individual and Mixed Team

World Ranking: 1

Rahi Sarnobat

Event - 25m Women’s Pistol, Individual

World Ranking: 2

Anjum Moudgil –

Events - 50m Women’s Air Rifle 3 positions, Individual and Mixed Team

World Ranking: 27

Tejaswini Sawant

Event - 50m Women’s Rifle 3 Position, Individual

World Ranking: 28