India's medal count at the 2023 Asian Games has been opened by the shooters with the team of Ashi Chouksey, Mehuli Ghosh and Ramita winning a silver in the team event of the 10m air rifle event.
The qualification round for the individual event also was counted as the scores for the team event and India finished with a total of 1886.0 points to finish second, behind hosts China who bagged the gold with 1896.6 points. Mongolia won the bronze with 1880.0.
Ramita was the top shooter for India in the round, finishing second overall in the qualifier with a score of 631.9. Mehuli finished fifth with 630.8 points and Ashi ended with 623.3.
Ramita and Mehuli will be seen in action later today in the final of the women's individual 10m air rifle event.
Hangzhou: Indian shooter Mehuli Ghosh competes in the qualification of 10M air rifle in the 19th Asian Games at the Hangzhou Olympic Sports Centre Stadium, in Hangzhou, China, Sunday, Sept. 24, 2023.
(Photo: PTI)
Though not the highest ranked Indian woman in the category, Mehuli Ghosh became the first shooter from the country to book an Olympic quota in the 10m air rifle event after winning a bronze at the 2022 ISSF World Championships in Baku (Azerbaijan). A medallist from the 2018 Commonwealth Games, the 22-year-old is on a comeback trail with her recent performances and has climbed up to world number 36 in the ISSF rankings.
Hangzhou: Indian shooter Ramita (C) competes in the qualification of 10M air rifle in the 19th Asian Games at the Hangzhou Olympic Sports Centre Stadium, in Hangzhou, China, Sunday, Sept. 24, 2023.
(Photo: PTI)
India has sent a 33-member shooting contingent to the 19th Asian Games that will compete for a total of 51 medals. They will be competing in individual, team and mixed team events across three disciplines - rifle, pistol and shotgun.
At the 2018 Asian Games, India finished with 9 medals in shooting, including two golds, four silvers and three bronze.
These Asian Games are also Olympic qualifiers for shooting with a total of 24 Paris Olympics quota places up for grabs - two in each of the 12 individual Olympic events across Rifle, Pistol and Shotgun.
(At The Quint, we are answerable only to our audience. Play an active role in shaping our journalism by becoming a member. Because the truth is worth it.)