Indian Shooters Struggle on Day One of Paris Olympics

The Paris Olympics kicked off with a mixed bag of performances from Indian shooters on Saturday. In the qualifications for the 10m air rifle mixed team event, both Indian pairs, Ramita with Arjun Babuta and Elavenil Valarivan with Sandeep Singh, failed to make it to the final rounds.

Ramita and Arjun put up a decent fight, finishing in sixth place with a total score of 628.7. They were close to breaking into the medal round but missed the cut-off by just 1.0 point. Meanwhile, Elavenil and Sandeep ended up in 12th with a score of 626.3.

Ramita and Babuta had a strong start during their second relay, with Babuta’s shots scoring 10.5, 10.6, 10.5, and 10.9. Ramita managed scores of 10.2, 10.7, 10.3, and 10.1, which briefly pushed them into the top eight. However, they needed a bit more to clinch a spot for the bronze medal round.

The top three spots were dominated by shooters from China, Korea, and Kazakhstan, all performing exceptionally well in the qualifications.

In other events on the first day, Balraj Panwar finished fourth in the men’s single sculls heat, which was not enough to qualify for the quarterfinals. On the brighter side, Manu Bhaker secured a spot in the finals of the 10m air pistol after an impressive qualification round performance.

Manu’s achievement also marked a significant moment for Indian female shooters, as she is the first to reach the finals since Suma Shirur did at the Athens 2004 Olympics. The other Indian female shooter, Rhythm Sangwan, was not as fortunate and finished 15th in her event.

In tennis, Lakshya Sen made a fantastic start, defeating Kevin Cordon from Guatemala in straight games, while table tennis player Harmeet Desai also advanced after winning his first match against Zaid Abo Yaman from Jordan.

In men’s doubles tennis, Rohan Bopanna and N Sriram Balaji awaited their match against the French duo of Gael Monfils and Édouard Roger-Vasselin, who had replaced Fabien Reboul.

The day was packed with action as Indian athletes geared up to give it their all in their respective sports. The Indian men’s hockey team was also set to face New Zealand in their opening match later in the evening.