Raiza Dhillon and Anant Jeet Singh Naruka extended India’s record number of Olympic quota places to 19 by winning silver in the respective women’s and men’s skeet final at the Asia Olympic Qualification for Shotgun in Kuwait.
Dhillon, 19, earned her country’s 18th place for the Paris 2024 Games after securing the sixth and last qualifying place for the final the previous day at the Sheikh Sabah Al-Ahmad Olympic Range in Kuwait City
The youngest in the final, she totalled 52 to finish four behind the Chinese gold medallist Gao Jinmei - who gained the second women’s quota place on offer. It was a historic achievement for Dhillon as she secured the first Olympic place for an Indian skeet shooter.
A couple of hours later in these Asian Shotgun Championships another second place for Naruka brought up India’s second quota place of the day.
India’s Vijayveer Sidhu had increased the tally of India’s Olympic places to 17 a week earlier at the Asian Rifle and Pistol qualifier in Jakarta by taking silver in the men’s 25m rapid fire pistol.
There was joy too for the host nation as 40-year-old Mohammad Aldaihani earned a Paris 2024 quota place for finishing third in the men’s skeet, where the winner, Chinese Taipei’s Lee Meng Yuan, was not eligible for one as his country had already secured their allotted number.
Dhillon, who won world junior team gold in 2021, began in dominant fashion on a warm day with only mild winds, leading to the halfway mark.
But her form dipped slightly in the second part of the final, enabling her 33-year-old Chinese rival, a silver medallist at last year’s ISSF World Cup in Larnaca, to take a decisive lead.
Dhillon was ahead of Gao by one after 36 of the 60 shots – 35 to 34.
After 40 shots, however, the places were reversed, with three misses by the Indian shooter enabling the Chinese athlete – who had topped qualifying with 119 - to occupy first place by one shot on 38, a lead she went on to extend.
India’s Ganemat Sekhon, second in qualifying, was eliminated at this point, leaving her compatriots Dhillon and 27-year-old Maheshwari Chauhan, who was third best qualifier, to contest the medals with Gao.
“I honestly entered the final with no expectations,” Dhillon told ISSF TV. “So what I have achieved has surpassed my expectations
Her compatriot Chauhan, reflecting on the fact that there had been three Indian shooters in the final, added: “Having your team-mates in the final gives you such a good buffer and such a good opportunity because at least the country gets a quota.
“For us it’s been historic because this is the first one for India ever in the women’s skeet programme. So that’s a huge achievement.
“I had a shaky start, I’m not going to lie, I think there was a bit of nerves that got the better of me. But I’m really glad I got back on the podium and the quota for the country is the quota for us all so I am happy about that.
“We still have a spot left so I am preparing to try for that.
“Our team is getting much stronger. And the average age for the Indian skeet team is 22.
“Our competition is definitely getting stiffer at home and I think that’s the reason why we performed well here.”
The three Indian finalists had already secured women’s team gold ahead of China and Kazakhstan.
Dhillon added that she and her compatriots would be heading straight to Cairo for the ISSF World Cup that starts on Wednesday (January 24).
Qatar’s Reem Al Sharshani was fifth, and Thailand’s 37-year-old Sutiya Jiewchaloemmit, four times Asian champion with one of those victories coming at this range in 2018, taking sixth place.
Kazakhstan’s Assem Orynbay, who won gold at the World Cup Final in Doha last November, missed out on the final by one place.
Naruka, a 25-year-old from Jaipur, had taken an early lead in the final, but a third miss on his 40th shot enabled the 29-year-old Chinese Taipei athlete to move ahead by one shot.
Both men missed once in the gold-medal sequence of 10, meaning the positions remained the same.
Aldaihani had – like Dhillon – secured the sixth and final place in qualifying, where China’s Ma Chenghong had led on 122, one shot ahead of Naruka.
The Kuwaiti shooter missed three of his opening 20 efforts – but then employed all his experience to hit every subsequent shot.
He might even have gone on to contest gold after matching Naruka’s 50-shot total of 47, but had to settle for bronze on his bib number due to his Indian rival’s better performance in qualifying.
That did not prevent a huge cheer from erupting among the home spectators, who made haste to carry him from the range in celebration…
“I am so proud and happy,” Aldaihani told ISSF TV. “It is an amazing moment for me – the first time I go to the Olympic Games.
“During the competition I didn’t think about the quota place. I do only my thing. Don’t think about it.
“This was a win for all the Kuwaiti people.”
Earlier he had also helped the hosts earn team silver behind China and ahead of India.