Vijayveer Sidhu confirmed country's 17th Paris Olympic quota by qualifying for the men's 25m rapid-fire pistol final

Indian shooter Vijayveer Sidhu has secured India's 17th Paris Olympic quota spot in shooting. Sidhu qualified for the men's 25m rapid-fire pistol final in 4th place at the Asian Olympic Qualifiers in Jakarta on Saturday.

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This is India's fourth Paris Olympic quota places in the ongoing Asian Olympic Qualifiers. Earlier, Rhythm Sangwan, Esha Singh and Varun Tomar had qualified for the Olympics in women's and men's categories.

India has secured 33 Paris Olympic quota places to be held in July. Of these, maximum 17 shooters have achieved this. India has got 9 Olympic quotas in athletics, 4 in boxing, one each in hockey, archery and wrestling.

Till now India has got 17 Paris Olympic quota places from shooting. These include 8 Olympic places in rifle, 7 in pistol and 2 in shotgun. Before Vijayveer, Rhythm, Varun, Esha and Sarabjot Singh achieved Olympic quota in 10 meter air pistol, Manu Bhakar in 25 meter pistol and Anish Bhanwala in 25 meter rapid fire pistol. The way shooters have been upping their performance speaks volumes about their hard work.

Indian shooting has also soared in the last year phenomenally. The rich medal haul of 22 at the Asian Games in Hangzhou, China in September-October was run down by the uncharitable since there were team events as well. But the men and women have continued to improve. They deserve credit for the sheer variety and for staying focused.

Meanwhile, 16 Paris Olympic quota spots are at stake in this competition going on in Jakarta. 385 shooters from 26 countries are participating in the competition. Apart from the Olympic quota, 256 medals are at stake in this competition. These include 84 gold, 84 silver and 88 bronze.

Also Read: Asian Shooting Championships: Rhythm Sangwan achieves 16th Paris Olympic quota for India in shooting

Vijayveer Sidhu scored 577 and was among the four of the six finalists eligible for the Paris Olympic quota in the event. This is India's most-ever quota secured in a single Olympic Games. Sidhu will compete in the final later in the day. In the women's 50m Rifle 3P, Sift Kaur Samra and Ashi Chouksey won the silver and bronze medal.