India would be eyeing a medal on the opening day of competitions itself when the redoubtable Jitu Rai takes aim at the shooting range even as the much-hyped men’s hockey team begins its quest to rediscover a golden past in the 31st Olympic Games here on Saturday. Success in shooting will be key to India’s hopes of surpassing london Olympics’ six-medal haul, and the performance of Jitu and Abhinav Bindra would be crucial to that aim, while the likes of Gagan Narang, Manavjit Singh Sandhu, Heena Sidhu and Apurvi Chandela can also climb the podium
TOPGUN
JITU RAI, 29
10m air pistol event
TIME: 9:30pm
· The 29-year-old Jitu Rai, the latest product from the Army Marksmanship Unit, would be the cynosure of all eyes when he would walk in with his pistol at the Olympic Shooting Centre to compete in his pet 10m air pistol event today.
· The pint-sized dynamo has managed to keep a low profile heading into the Games despite being in imperious form for the last two years during which he won gold medals at the Commonwealth and Asian Games.
· His most recent medal — a silver — came at the World Cup in Azerbaijan in June, making him a hot property for opening India’s medal haul in the Games.
· Tipped to give India their second individual gold medal after Bindra, armyman Jitu is the reigning world champion in 50m pistol as he will compete in both the events with an aim to make an unprecedented double in the Olympics.
· Having won medals at the Asian Games (gold and bronze in Incheon 2014), Commonwealth Games (gold in Glasgow 2014), World Cup (two gold, three silver and one bronze) and World Championships (silver in Granada 2014), Jitu has made rapid strides since the last Olympics.
Maidenstory
ayonika paul, 23
10m air Rifle
TIME: 5pm
· Ayonika is being coached and guided by Olympian Suma Shirur who is herself a specialist in the shooting event for the Rio Olympics.
· She won a silver medal in the 10m air rifle shooting event at the 2014 Commonwealth Games.
· She has also won a Bronze medal in the same event at the ISSF World Cup in the 2014 in Slovenia.
· She has won a lot of laurels for the country in the juniors’ category, and made her announcement to the world by winning the gold in the International Junior Shooting Competition in Munich in 2008.
Bullseye
apurvi chandela, 23
10m air Rifle
TIME: 5pm
· Apurvi took up to shooting after seeing Bindra’s gold medal feat in 2008 and now competing alongside her role model at Rio, where she will hope to emulate Bindra’s feat.
· Apurvi’s career took a dramatic upswing in 2014 when at the Commonwealth Games at Glasgow she won gold in the 10m air rifle event with a games record score in qualification and in the finals.
· She was the first Indian woman to qualify for the Rio Games by virtue of a bronze medal at the World Cup in Changwon, South Korea last year. It was also her first World Cup medal.
· In 2015, Apurvi won a silver medal at the World Cup Final in Munich. In 2016, she broke the world record for the finals round by shooting 211.2 to win gold.