What went wrong for Indian shooters at the ISSF World Cup?
The 2021 ISSF World Cup in Osijek, Croatia started today. Day one of the event saw 10m shooters competing. 10m event has been India's strong suit, hence the expectations were multiple podium finishes. However, India had a rough outing. Indian consistent performers couldn't produce their best outings. In the 10m air rifle event, only one shooter could advance in the finals. Aishwary Pratap Singh qualified in the men's event and finished at the 7th position. This comes as a surprise as Aishwary is a Tokyo-bound shooter for the 50m events, and he won't be competing in 10m at the Olympics. World top Divyansh and Elavenil couldn't even finish in the top 10. In 10m air rifle men's category Tokyo-bound Deepak Kumar and Divyansh Singh Panwar competed. While Aishwary Pratap Singh also competed, he is not on the Olympic team for the event. Deepak Kumar had a relatively better outing than Divyansh. Kumar finished at the 14th position with 626.0. He didn't make it to the cut for finals, but he did better than the world's top three. World top three, Lucas Kozeniesky (USA), Istvan Peni (Hungary), and Divyansh Singh Panwar (India) finished at 22nd, 15th, and 25th positions respectively. Most shooters who advanced for the finals are Olympians. Divyansh's 25th finish is a setback for him and the team. While Divyansh has been consistent throughout, it is his maiden Olympic game. The level of pressure varies in World cups and Olympics. World Cup in Croatia is the last event before Tokyo Olympics, and the world is watching the Tokyo-bound shooters closely. The pressure to perform the best can overwhelm any shooter, Divyansh is just 18-year-old. Apurvi better than Elavenil and Anjum  World top shooter Elavenil Valarivan was expected to reach the podium in the 10m air rifle event. But, the world one finished at the 55th position. Initially, she finished at the 22nd position, but due to 2 points penalty, she dipped down to 55th with 621.3 points.