Ramita is the second Indian female shooter in 20 years, following Manu Bhaker, to reach the medal round. She is also the first Indian female rifle shooter to advance to the Olympic final since her coach, Suma Shirur, achieved the feat in Athens 2004.
In a historic moment for Indian shooting, Ramita Jindal has secured a spot in the 10m air rifle final at the Paris 2024 Olympics. Her compatriot, Elavenil Valarivan, unfortunately, did not make it. Ramita is the second Indian female shooter in 20 years, after Manu Bhaker, to reach the medal round. She is also the first Indian female rifle shooter to reach the Olympic final since her coach, Suma Shirur, in Athens 2004.
Ramita scored 631.5 points, and it appeared she wouldn’t make the cut until the final series. She finished 5th in the rankings, securing her place in the medal round. Elavenil Valarivan was leading at the halfway mark but significantly dropped in the next three series, ultimately finishing 10th in the qualifying round.
Korea’s Hyojin Ban won the round with a score of 634.5 points, setting a new Olympic Qualification record.
Ramita began with impressive scores of 10.5 and 10.9, placing her third after the first two shots. Meanwhile, Valarivan’s initial shot of 10.6 put her in the 8th spot. However, by her third shot, Valarivan had climbed to the 3rd position as Ramita started to drop in the rankings.
Valarivan maintained consistency, with her lowest score in the first eight shots being 10.4, and she was tied for 5th place at that point. Ramita concluded her first round with a score of 104.3 and kicked off the second series with 21 points after two shots. Valarivan completed her first series with 105.8 points, putting her in 4th place. She began the second series with a score of 10.4. Ramita steadily rose in the rankings, achieving a score of 10.9 with her 14th shot.
The 20-year-old continued to edge closer to the top 10 with some brilliant shots in the second series. She climbed to the 8th spot as both Indian shooters appeared to be in excellent form.
Valarivan’s first five shots of the second series earned her 53 points, solidifying her position in the top three. Ramita finished the second series with 106 points and started the third series strong, scoring 31.3 and moving to 6th place in the rankings. Valarivan ended the second series with 106.1 points, securing the second spot.
The third series began well for Valarivan, who moved to the top spot after hitting 10.6 three times with her first three shots. Ramita faced some challenges during the third series but managed to recover and stay within the top 8.
However, the third series didn’t end well for either shooter. Valarivan scored 104.4, and Ramita managed 104.9. Despite this, both reentered the top 8 with a strong start to the fourth series. Valarivan had a shaky beginning but quickly recovered, moving to 4th place, while Ramita’s strong finish in the fourth series brought her back into the top 8.
In the fifth series, Valarivan remained in contention, but Ramita slipped out of the top 8 after a few subpar shots. Valarivan began the final series with a 10.4, followed by a 10.9.
However, Ramita surpassed her compatriot as Valarivan gradually slipped out of contention, finishing in 10th place after her 59th shot scored only 9.8 points, ending with a total of 630.7 points. Ramita maintained her strong performance and concluded with 105.7 points in the final round.
