Pistol shooters Esha, Varun seal Olympic quota places

Youngsters win the women's and men's 10m air pistol in Jakarta, taking India's total qualified berths in shooting to 15

Shooters Esha Singh and Varun Tomar have only a year's age gap, but their journeys to securing the coveted Paris Olympics quotas on Monday with gold in the women's and men's 10m air pistol event at the Jakarta Asian Qualifiers have been very different.

Esha, 19, has been competing on the international circuit for six years now. Considering that she came to limelight in 2018 when, as an immensely talented 13-year-old, she became national champion, it has been a long road for the teenager. The 20-year-old Varun, who took up pistol shooting inspired by his cousin, Tokyo Olympian Saurabh Chaudhary, broke into the junior national team only in 2022. Since then, it has been a rapid rise for him.

The shooting fraternity was confident Esha would seal a Paris Olympics quota, but the going was tough for her last year until a stellar show at the Hangzhou Asian Games put her back on track. Yet, the yearend World Cup Finals left her disappointed as she finished 13th with a score of 571/600 in qualification in 10m air pistol.