India's 10m mixed air rifle teams, Sandeep Singh/Elavenil Valarivan and Arjun Babuta/Ramita Jindal, failed to qualify for the final as they were eliminated in the qualification round at the Paris Olympics 2024 on Saturday, July 27.
The mixed team pair of Arjun Babuta and Ramita Jindal finished sixth with 628.7 points. Arjun bagged 314.2 points, while Ramita scored 314.5 points. Sandeep Singh and Elavenil Valarivan, on the other hand, ended up in 12th place with 626.3 points. This is Elavenil's Olympic participation after Tokyo Summer Games in 2021, but suffered another heartbreak of not winning a medal.
However, Elavenil can keep her Olympic medal hopes alive when she pairs up with Ramita Jindal in 10m women's air rifle qualification round, while Arjun Babuta to meet up with Sandeep Singh for 10m men's air rifle.
Arjun Babuta and Ramita Jindal came close to qualifying for the medal round, but fell just 1.0 point short of finishing in the top 4 of the qualification round. At one point, they broke into the top 5 and were inching closer to the top 4, but they fell out of the top 5 in the final rounds.
China topped the qualification round with 632.2 points, while South Korea finished second with 631.4 points. Kazakstan and Germany secured third and fourth with 630.8 and 629.7 points, respectively to qualify for the final of the 10m mixed air rifle event.
China will take on South Korea in the gold medal match, while Kazakstan will lock horns against Germany for the bronze medal.
All eyes on Manu Bhaker
Though India shooting contingent had a disappointing start to their campaign on the opening day of the Paris Oympics 2024, there are still hopes that things would turn positive as Indian shooters are set to take part in two events - 10m air pistol men's and women's pistol qualifications.
In 10m air pistol men's qualification, Arjun Singh Cheema and Sarabjot Singh will be in action as they look to qualify for the Final of the event. However, all the eyes will be on Manu Bhakar as she is one of the biggest hopes for India to win a medal.
Bhaker will be in action during the 10m air women's pistol qualification. The 22-year-old had a forgettable campaign in the Tokyo Olympics 2021 as he failed to win a single medal in either of three events she participated - 10, women's pistol, 25m women's pistol and 10m pistol team with Saurabh Chaudhary.
