Indian shooter Ramita Jindal has secured a spot in the final of the women’s 10m air rifle event at the ongoing Paris Olympics, while her compatriot Elavenil Valarivan faced disappointment once again.
Jindal, who started the event strongly, finished in fifth place with a score of 631.5. She will compete in the final on Monday, aiming to add to India’s medal tally. Valarivan, who had been a medal contender, suffered a setback and failed to qualify for the final.
In the first series, Jindal began with a dominant 10.5 and followed it up with a perfect 10.9. Valarivan also started well with a 10.6 and 10.7. However, Jindal’s performance dipped in the first series, and she slipped out of the top 20. Valarivan, on the other hand, finished the first series with a score of 105.8 and remained within the top five.
In the second series, Jindal continued to hit the region of 10 and moved up to eighth spot. Valarivan maintained consistency and stayed inside the top five. As the event progressed, Jindal gradually made her comeback, while Valarivan struggled in her final shots.
Jindal struck 10.4 and accumulated 105.7 points in the final to move past Oceanne Muller and book her place in the final. Valarivan, who had been in contention for a medal, faltered in her final shots and missed out on a place in the top eight.
Earlier, on the opening day of the Olympics, Valarivan and Sandeep Singh had tasted defeat in the 10m air rifle mixed team qualification event. Only four teams out of 28 qualified for the knockout stages, and the Indian duo finished in 12th place with 626.3 points.
