NEW DELHI:
Elavenil Valarivan, 19, is all set to participate in her first senior World Cup. But despite it being a world event, the Ahmedabad shooter's main competition will come from her Indian teammates.
Elavenil will be shooting in the women's 10m air rifle category at the World Cup with
Apurvi Chandela
and Anjum Moudgil. And while rest of the participants from other countries will be vying for the two quota places in her event for the 2020 Tokyo Games, Elavenil's goal will be to win gold and improve her domestic ranking. She is ranked third at present.
The young shooter will not be eligible to win a quota place as India have already got the maximum two spots in the event via Apurvi and Anjum. However, Elavenil will be looking to do well since the quota belongs to the country and top-two shooters ahead of the Games will get on the flight to the Olympics.
"Not playing for quotas doesn't make my job easier. The country has got the quotas, so I will have to maintain my form, be in a good shape throughout the year and grab one of the berths," Elavenil told TOI at the Dr
Karni Singh
range on Wednesday.
There is a neck-and-neck fight for the top-two positions between Elavenil, Apurvi, Anjum and Mehuli Ghosh. It has never happened before that India has got two quotas in women's 10m air rifle. "Everybody will be equally aggressive in their bid to seal the Tokyo berth," she said.
The rifle shooter said picking the tournaments wisely in the coming days will be key. "Strategy and planning will be crucial now, as the 18 odd months will see so many tournaments, but I can't play in all of them. I will have to plan my events well," she said.
Since the format in women's 10m air rifle event changed from 40 shots to 60 shots, the Indian quadrat has been shooting high scores consistently at international meets. "Since we all are shooting so well, the difference of points in our ranking is marginal. I think it is the best time for 10m air rifle shooting in India," she said.
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