Tokyo Olympics / Elavenil, Apurvi fail to reach 10m air rifle women's final at Olympics

Tokyo: Rough start for the Indian shooting contingent at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics with both Apurvi Chandela and Elavenil Valarivan failing to make the cut for the final of the 10m air rifle event at the Asaka Shooting Range.

In a field of 50 shooters, only 8 progress to the final and Elavenil finished at the 16th spot with a score of 626.5 out of a possible 654 in 60 shots, while Apurvi was 36th with a tally of 621.9

Norway's Jeanette Hegg Duestad topped the qualification round with a score of 632.9 while South Korea's Park Heemoon (631.7) and USA's Mary Tucker (631.4) were placed second and third respectively. The Russian Olympic Committee's (ROC) Anastasiia Galashina (628.5) was eighth and last shooter to make it to the finals.

Elavenil started slowly at the Asaka Shooting Range as she had scores of 104.3 and 104.0 in the first two series of 10 shots. She bounced back with 106.0 in the third series but the 21-year-old could not keep up the momentum in the next 30 shots as she came up with scores of 104.2, 103.5 and 104.5. Apurvi shot 102.5 in the second series, 102.2 in fifth and 103.6 in the sixth series as her challenge fizzled out.

In the past, Apurvi, a seasoned campaigner, has had scores of 633 in qualifying rounds while Elavenil has shot 632.7. On the first day of the Tokyo Olympics though, both failed to touch the 630 mark that would have seen them progress into this afternoon's final.

The 15-member Indian shooting contingent had reached Tokyo after a lengthy training-cum-competition camp in Zagreb, Croatia and has come into the Olympic Games with lot of hopes, having done well in international competitions in the intervening period between the 2016 Rio and Tokyo Olympics.