Shooting: Tejaswini Sawant wins India’s 12th Olympic quota place

Reigning CWG gold medalist Tejaswini Sawant booked a flight to her first Olympic Games in Tokyo and country's record 12th quota place when she finished fourth in women’s 50m Rifle 3 Positions final on day five of ongoing 14th Asian Shooting Championship in Qatar on Saturday. She did miss out on an individual medal eventually, but en route to final, seasoned rifle shooter from Kolhapur, had already secured India’s 12thTokyo 2020 Olympic quota place in Shooting.

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India add nine medals including three golds to ir tally

India also won nine more medals in all competitions throughout day including three more gold medals.  day belonged to valiant Tejaswini, currently ranked 95th in women’s 3P, who lifted her game when it mattered most. She shot a tactically fast-paced 1171 in gruelling 120-shot qualification round across three positions of Kneeling, Prone, and Standing, to deliver a virtuoso performance.  score was way above her previous best score in qualification in this new longer format introduced only in this current Olympic cycle, helping her finish fifth to ease into final. She ended final with a score of 435.8, missing out narrowly on a medal as Shi Mengyao of China won gold with 457.9. 

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Tejaswini's hard work pays off

Tejaswini was t denied a medal on day though, combining with her younger but higher-ranked compatriots to lead way to a team bronze in women’s 3P. Kajal Saini who finished a creditable 13th with a score of 1167 and N. Gaayathri who also ended a fine 16th with 1165, were or two making up trio. India also continued its pursuit of an Olympic quota in Shotgun with Men’s Skeet team well in contention after day one of qualification on Saturday. Join world record holder Angad Bajwa missed one bird out of 75 while Olympian Mairaj Ahmed Khan missed two and Smit Singh missed three, to be well in contention. Skeet finals will follow two more rounds of 25 targets each in qualification on Sunday, day six of competitions. Darshana Rahore was best Indian in Women’s Skeet, her score of 69 placing her 12th, while Ganemat Shekhon shot 66 to lie 17th and Saniya Sheikh 65, to be in 18th position.

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