New Delhi (TIP)- India will be fielding their biggest-ever shooting contingent at the Paris Olympics. Pistol shooter Rhythm Sangwan on Thursday, January 11, sealed India’s 16th Olympic quota with a bronze medal in 25m sports pistol at the Asian Olympic qualifying event in Jakarta.
At the Tokyo Olympics India had 15 shooters. With the qualifying events yet to be completed, India are expected to go well beyond the Tokyo mark. A maximum of 24 Olympic quota places can be secured. That said, the challenge will be to win a medal at the Olympics. Indian shooters have returned empty handed from the previous two Olympics. The dry run at the Tokyo Olympics was more disappointing, considering the impressive performances of the shooters in the run-up to the Games.
The focus will now shift on the preparation for the Paris Games, but before that, shooters will have to confirm their places in the squad during a domestic trial in May. After Tokyo, a new lot of youngsters have come through the ranks and national coaches will have to ensure that the Olympics first-timers are able to soak in the pressure that comes with it.
“There is a lot more emphasis on mental preparation in this Olympics cycle. A sports psychologist is part of the team now,” says Ronak Pandit, chief coach pistol (25m).
“Besides, the high-performance coaching team has been relying on data such as breathing pattern of shooters, skin conductance response and heart rate to determine when they are entering the zone. A lot of background work has happened after Tokyo that is showing results,” says Pandit, the former international who was also part of the support staff in Tokyo. “Before every major event, the shooters are being told by the coaches on the likely challenges they are going to face that might affect their performance.” Sure, these steps are being taken following the lessons from the Tokyo debacle. In the last three years several new faces have been performing well for India at the world stage. The big success has come in rifle, where India had all eight quotas secured even before the ongoing qualifying event. In pistol, India have now grabbed six of the eight spots. Only two have come in shotgun so far.