Know your Olympians: Meet the Indian women who are shooting to win

Manu Bhaker, shooting 10m

This 19-year-old—who will be competing in three events—has barely returned from an international competition without a medal for the last two years. All eyes will be on Bhaker as she’s the medal favourite in the 10m Air Pistol Mixed Event, in which she has already won five World Cup golds with Saurabh Chaudhary. She has decided to stay off social media till the end of the Games.

Rahi Sarnobat, shooting 25m

The 30-year-old warmed up just in time for Tokyo, with a sensational gold-winning performance at the World Cup in Croatia, the last competition before the Olympics. The manner in which the Kolhapur girl shot in the 25m Air Pistol final, where she missed out on a world record score by just one point, makes her a medal favourite at her second Olympics.

Apurvi Chandela, shooting 10m

Having secured her quota way back in 2018, this will be Apurvi Chandela’s second Olympics. The competition from the younger lot and more international tournaments has resulted in better scores and more experience, says the rifle shooter from Jaipur. She will be competing in the 10m Air Rifle event only.

Elavenil Valarivan, shooting 25m

Consistency has been key for the 21-year-old who shot to fame with her performances in the Junior World Cup in 2019. The Cuddalore girl, in fact, wasn’t part of the initial Olympics squad but was accommodated later. The top seed for Tokyo, she will be competing in the 10m Air Rifle individual, and mixed event with Divyansh Singh.

Yashaswini Singh Deswal, shooting 10m

Having bagged her Olympic quota with a World Cup gold in 2019, this 24-year-old from Delhi recently stunned stalwarts by beating medal favourite Manu Bhaker to gold. She will lead India’s two-horse race with Bhaker in the 10m Air Pistol individual event and also team up with Abhishek Verma for the Mixed Team event.

Anjum Moudgil, shooting 50m 

Even though she secured a quota in the 10m Air Rifle event, Anjum Moudgil will be competing in the 50m Rifle 3 Position event. It’s an event the Punjab girl has won multiple medals in, including World Cups. The 27-year-old, who put up her paintings for auction during the pandemic to raise funds for affected sporting communities, will be teaming up with Deepak Kumar for the 10m Air Rifle Mixed Event.

Tejaswini Sawant, shooting 50m 

At 41, Tejaswini Sawant is the oldest shooter in the Indian contingent. When she first competed internationally, her current teammate Elavenil Valarivan was five, and pistol shooter Manu Bhaker, just two! The Kolhapur shooter, who competes in the 50m Rifle 3P event, has won medals across all events and has qualified for the Olympics for the very first time after missing out thrice.

Know Your Olympians is a Vogue India series to cheer and celebrate India’s women athletes at the upcoming Tokyo Olympics 2021

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