Indian Shooter Vijayveer Sidhu Clinches 17th Paris Olympics Spot For Country

Vijayveer Sidhu secured India's 17th Paris Olympics 2024 quota place by winning a silver medal in the men's 25m rapid-fire event at the Asian Olympic Qualifiers in Jakarta on Saturday.

Vijayveer Sidhu clinches 17th Paris Olympics quota place for India ( Image Source :X/@OfficialNRAI )

Vijayveer Sidhu secured India's 17th Paris Games quota spot by winning a silver medal in the men's 25m rapid-fire event at the Asia Olympic Qualifiers in Jakarta, Indonesia on January 13 (Saturday). At 21 years old, Vijayveer Sidhu, a bronze medallist at the Hangzhou Asian Games, has secured a Paris Games quota spot in the 25m rapid-fire event. Joining fellow Indian Anish Bhanwala, who earned an Olympic quota with a bronze in the Asian Championship in Changwon, Korea, last year, Vijayveer’s quota place was assured even before the commencement of the final. Scoring 289 in the rapid-fire round on Saturday morning, he totaled 577 in the qualification round, securing the fourth position among the 31 medal contenders.

In the final, the shooter from Chandigarh secured 28 hits, earning a silver medal. He finished behind Kazakhstan's Nikita Chiryukin, who shot 32 for the gold and also claimed the second available Paris quota in the event. Jong-Ho Song of Korea secured the third position.

So @VijayveerSidhu does it in style winning 🥈 in the men’s 25m rapid-fire pistol to go along with the 17th @Paris2024 quota place. Well done lad👏🔥🇮🇳#IndianShooting. #AsiaOlympicQualification pic.twitter.com/BqhDklQfiZ

— NRAI (@OfficialNRAI) January 13, 2024

“Yes, I am very very happy. We trained very hard in the camps and also after coming here. The range is quite similar to the Delhi range. I am not too happy with my qualification score and we know the areas we need to work on after we come back, but very happy with the way I shot the finals. I want to dedicate this to my parents, family and friends and of course to my coaches for the support,” said Vijayveer after the prize distribution as per PTI.

Indian Shooters Clinch Four Paris Olympics 2024 Quota Places 

The rapid-fire pistol has historically been a strong event for India, with Vijay Kumar securing a silver at the 2012 London Olympic Games. Leading up to the 2020 Olympics, Anish appeared to be a strong contender for a Tokyo berth but fell short during the ISSF World Cup in New Delhi in 2021. Indian shooters have secured four Paris Olympics quota places in Jakarta, with Esha Singh (women's 10m air pistol), Varun Tomar (men's 10m air pistol), Rhythm Sangwan (women's 25m sports pistol) and Vijayveer Sidhu claiming spots (men's 25m rapid-fire).