Paris 2024 Olympic selection trials: Swapnil, Ashi top 50m rifle 3P qualifications

Swapnil Kusale shot 592 to top qualification in the men’s rifle 3-position event in the Olympic selection trials at the Dr Karni Singh Range, Tughlakabad, on Tuesday.

Olympic quota winner Swapnil had 199 in kneeling, 199 in prone and 194 in standing.

Olympian Chain Singh was one point behind with 591, while the other Olympic quota winner, Akhil Sheoran, shot 589.

Olympian Aishwary Pratap Singh Tomar, who had won four medals in the Hangzhou Asian Games, had a tough start, shooting 576, with 188 in standing position.

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It may be noted that Aishwary has the advantage of “deemed quota”, which gives him two bonus points like what Olympic quota winners Swapnil and Akhil get in the trials.

In the women’s rifle 3-position event, Ashi Chouksey topped the qualification with 590, seven points ahead of Asian Games gold medallist and world record holder Sift Kaur Samra. Olympian Anjum Moudgil shot 581, while the Olympic quota winner Shriyanka Sadangi managed to shoot 575, the same score as Nischal.

The finals will be staged on Wednesday.

With four trials lined up, with the second batch of two trials in Bhopal, the shooters have the choice of leaving out their lowest score out of four. The equation could become interesting as the shooters compile fresh scores.

The results (qualification stage):

50m rifle 3-position: Men: 1. Swapnil Kusale 592; 2. Chain Singh 591; 3. Akhil Sheoran 589; 4. Niraj Kumar 579; 5. Aishwary Pratap Singh Tomar 576.

Women: 1. Ashi Chouksey 590; 2. Sift Kaur Samra 583; 3. Anjum Moudgil 581; 4. Shriyanka Sadangi 575; 5. Nischal 575.