CHENNAI: It was a day that belonged to rifle shooters from India.
In a high-pressure environment, the Indians were a picture of composure, determination as they added two Olympic quotas to India's tally in the ongoing Asian Shooting Championships in Changwon, South Korea. Arjun Babuta and Tilottama Sen captured a silver medal each to secure the all-important quotas in the 10m air rifle events. In total, India have won a total of 10 Olympic quotas so far.
Opening the day's quota account was Arjun in the men's 10m air rifle event. After bossing the qualification round with a score of 633.4, the 24-year-old from Chandigarh showed no signs of slowing down. He was as impressive in the final and finished just behind Chinese prodigy Lihao Sheng, an 18-year-old who's an Olympic silver medallist. Arjun had to bring his A-game in the final that witnessed a high level of competition. Even when he was behind initially, Arjun never seemed fazed and found some high 10s mid-way through the final. He eventually finished with a tally of 251.2. His immediate take on this outcome underlines what this meant to him. "I don't remember the last time I was this happy," Arjun said.
For someone who has come through the junior programme, Arjun has always had a high ceiling. However, he has had his share of hurdles. He had an injury scare a few years ago and he's had to be patient over the years. Coach Deepali Deshpande, who has known Arjun since his junior days, is not surprised by Friday's output. It was at this very venue where Arjun had bagged a gold medal in the ISSF World Cup last year.
"He did what was expected of him. It took him some time but he has been shooting consistently well in training. He is highly talented. We throw the term talented in a loose manner quite often. He has that eye for perfection. Even when he was very young, he had that knack of catching that perfect shot," Deepali noted. That eye for perfection was evident on the day as he maintained his level from start to finish.
Standing upright while training for long hours and competitions can take a massive toll on a shooter's body. It was in 2019 when Arjun had issues with his back. Moreover, he is also allergic to certain foods and that was affecting his health.
Arjun BabutaOne of the early scares that Arjun experienced was when he was training at CSS, Chennai during that time period under the guidance of Deepali.
"Arjun was training in the 10m range and I was with Akhil (Sheoran) in the 50m range (upper range). Someone came up to me and said Arjun fell. I thought he fainted but it wasn't that. His lower body had gone totally numb. His injury then such that, even when he used to stand for 10, 20 minutes, his lower body would go numb. That was the second time he fell. He was totally conscious but he had no sensation in his lower body. That was shocking and I couldn't sleep that entire night. He was just 17 or 18 then and I was just thinking, 'forget shooting and the Olympics, he has entire life ahead of him'. I could not figure out how serious the issue was. Fortunately, we were there at that centre (sports science) and we got it investigated and we could consult with the experts there and get the right help," Deepali recalled.
After getting the timely help, Arjun underwent rehabilitation and recovered during Covid break. Despite making a strong return, he had to be patient as 2021 was an Olympic year and the focus was on other shooters. Moreover, he also had to undergo some changes because of body transformation with age. That was yet another problem-solving exercise for both. In hindsight, Deepali feels the injury was a blessing in disguise. "The injury was like a blessing in disguise. That gave us a chance to start from scratch. Wiping out old habits is very difficult. Because of injury, he had to take a complete break from the sport."
Arjun's gain was Divyansh Singh Panwar's loss. Divyansh, who was part of the Tokyo Olympics, did have a strong crack at the finals and was unlucky to miss out. Lower scores as compared to leaders in the earlier rounds eventually proved to be the difference-maker as he finished fourth.
Just an hour or so later, it was Tilottama, who's just 15, and Ramita's opportunity to step up in the women's 10m air rifle event. There was not much to separate the two as they dominated the proceedings. Like the men's event, the women's affair was equally gripping with both Indians shooting high 10s, round-after-round, and showing no signs of slowing down. If Tilottama hit a 10.5, Ramita would respond with the same score or do better. It was a fascinating watch and it seemed like the Indians would go on to finish one-two.
However, the narrative changed drastically with two shots remaining. With three shooters and as many shots left, Ramita made her only error of the final and it proved to be a fatal one. She shot 9.9 and that sealed her fate. That shot kept Korea's Kwon Eunji in the hunt, lifting her from third to second. That drew huge cheers from the local fans, who were rooting for Eunji. The moment was a harsh reality for Ramita, who had followed the textbook until that miss.
Eunji then went on to overtake Tilottama in the next shot and lead by the barest of margins (.2).
In the final shot, the Korean was the first to pull the trigger. The scoreboard read 10.4. Tilottama had to hit 10.6 or better. However, she just missed her target and hit 10.5 instead, finishing .1 behind Eunji.
That sums up the sport in a nutshell.
Gold for skeet shooters
Skeet shooter Anant Jeet Singh Naruka, who had narrowly missed out on quota a few days ago, combined with Darshna Rathore to clinch a gold medal in the mixed team event. They entered the gold medal match with a total of 139, winning a 10-shot shoot-off. They went on to defeat Kuwait's Abdullah Alrashidhi Eman Al Shamaa 40-37 in the title round.
