CHENNAI: With the rifle shooters from the country not competing for the Olympic quotas, the ongoing Asia Olympic qualifying competition in Jakarta might seem inconsequential. However, that's not the case if one explores deeper. The in-form Akhil Sheoran, who had already secured the quota before entering the continental event, had travelled to Jakarta with the objective of adding credit to his bank ahead of the Paris Olympics. He did just that with a gold-medal return in the men's 50m rifle 3 positions (kneeling, prone, standing) on Friday.
The experienced 28-year-old, one of the standouts in 2023, retained his composure in the finals to edge teammate Aishwary Tomar Pratap Singh, who tailed him for the second spot. This is a welcome result for the World Championships bronze medallist as this was most likely his second-last international tournament ahead of the Paris Olympics. This vital exposure could give the UP shooter an edge in the days to come. His coach, Deepali Deshpande, highlighted the significance of this performance.
"Akhil was shooting really well in 2023. However, he was not very happy with his overall output. He wanted to do even better. He also made a few changes, (technique and change of barrel) so he was keen on doing well. I was also curious to see how he will perform," the former national rifle coach told this daily.
Moreover, Akhil, who is supported by Olympic Gold Quest, and the rest of the participants were operating in challenging conditions. Deepali was delighted to see her ward's ability to adapt swiftly and get a favorable result.
"The conditions were challenging. In Delhi (national camp), they were training in extremely cold temperatures and it's hot and humid with sporadic rainfall in Jakarta. So to see Akhil adapt to the conditions out there and get a win is satisfying. "The wind was erratic as well. That's why it was very important (today's performance). Despite these challenges, all of them did really well. The scores dipped just a little bit but still, it (scores) were quite good," she added.
Akhil, an Indian Railways employee, had garnered a tally of 586 in the qualification stage before going on to top the finals with a tally of 460.2. Thailand’s Thongphaphum Vongsukdee challenged Akhil for the top spot during the finals before falling behind in the elimination stage. The Thai shooter eventually finished with a bronze medal and an Olympic quota. Swapnil Kusale, the third shooter from the country in the competition, also did well to reach the eight-man final but missed out on a podium finish after an average show in the prone series.
With multiple shooters from the 50m rifle 3P fighting for the two Olympic spots, Akhil, who has been associated with the Indian team since 2012, will be determined to retain that sharpness in his shooting. "In 2022, he was not in the national team. He came a year later and with every outing, he kept on improving. He was absent for three years (international arena) and it takes some time for any shooter to find their comfort zone. With every match, he was experiencing something and he was fighting and learning.
Sometimes he missed finals narrowly, and sometimes he made it to the finals but he was making some mistakes that put him out of medal contention. He was still playing catch-up but he was gradually getting back with every outing. Now, I'm confident that he's in a good place. This (Friday's) match was crucial for him," Deepali noted. After all the toil in recent years, Akhil is now in a position of strength and has a strong chance of going higher in the next few months.
