India win gold in men’s 10m air pistol team event; Varun Tomar bags Paris Olympics quota place and gold medal

Indian shooters earned a gold medal in men’s 10m air pistol team event to make a positive start to their campaign at the Asian Olympic Qualifiers in Jakarta on Monday.

Trio of Varun Tomar (586), Arjun Singh Cheema (579) and Ujjawal Malik (575) produced a total of 1740 to finish top, while Iran and Korea claimed the silver and bronze medals respectively.

In the individual finals later, Varun Tomar clinched an individual gold medal and equally crucially, a quota place for the Paris Olympics. The 20-year old shot 239.6 in the final, leading to an Indian 1-2 as Arjun Cheema came second.

India have now won 14 Olympic quota places in shooting across rifle, pistol and shotgun disciplines.

While all quota places in rifle have been secured, a total of four quotas have been won in pistol.

India have opened their Jakarta Asian Olympic Qualifying account with a gold🥇 in the men’s 10m air pistol team event. Two Indians #VarunTomar & #ArjunCheema have also made the individual finals scheduled for 12.30pm IST. pic.twitter.com/xUWK8qncYk

— NRAI (@OfficialNRAI) January 8, 2024

Entering the continental showpiece, a total of 16 quota places for the Paris Olympics were up for grabs. The 10m air pistol events for men and women have four quotas on offer with a maximum of three for the Indian shooters.

Esha Singh, Rhythm Sangwan and Surbhi Rao then shoulder Indian hopes in the women’s 10m air pistol, where India are still to win a Paris quota.

As many as 385 athletes from 26 countries will take aim at the Senayan Shooting Range in Jakarta for 256 medals (84 gold, 84 silver and 88 bronze medals), besides the Paris quotas.

(with inputs from PTI)

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