New Delhi: Tilottama Sen and Rudrankksh Patil took up the 50m rifle three positions (3P) event just a while back, but they produced eye-catching performances in the national selection trials to grab places in the India team.
Both are top air rifle shooters, but have added another event to their mix with an eye on the 2026 Asian Games.
With a cap on the number of shooters (five each in men and women’s rifle events) at the multi discipline event, a shooter competing in two events increases chances of participation.
Tilottama and Rudrankksh won Paris Olympics air rifle quotas for India but lost out in Olympic selection trials at home by tiny margins. For the Asian Games therefore, they want to maximise their chances of making the cut.
As it turned out both performed so well in these trials that they are now in the top three of domestic rankings in 3P, which also gives them the opportunity of competing at the Munich World Cup in May.
The top three in women’s 3P has seen an overhaul. Asian Games bronze medallist Ashi Chouksey tops the list followed by new faces Tilottama and Kerala’s Vidarsa K Vinod — the gold and silver medallists at the national championship. The two Paris Olympians, Ramita and the reigning Asian Games champion Sift Kaur Samra, are out of top 10 in rankings.
In men’s 3P, Paris Olympics bronze medallist Swapnil Kusale and world championships silver medallist Aishwary Pratap Singh Tomar have maintained their high levels in the two selection trials. But 2022 air rifle world champion Rudrankksh has pushed through to occupy the third place in the 3P rankings, thus making it his first foray into the India team in this event.
As the competition within the top 10 is tight, NRAI has decided to give opportunity to all of them — either in the main team or in RPO (ranking positions only) in the first two World Cups. It will keep the shooters on their toes, and with every performance counting towards the Asian Games selection, current form will matter. No athlete will participate in more than two world cups in 2026.
While 10m air rifle is competed indoors, 50m rifle three positions throws more challenges as shooters have to shoot in kneeling, prone and standing positions outdoors.
Tilottama has made her mark in less than a year of training in a new discipline. In a field of Olympians, world championships and Asian Games medallist, she won the senior national title in 3P, and now she has won both the selection trials.
On Tuesday, the 17-year-old shot a brilliant 594-34x to top the qualification in the first trial and then comfortably trumped the eight shooter new 35-shot final format (360.1). In the second trial on Wednesday, she was fifth in qualification (589-27X) and came out all guns blazing in the final, winning with a score of 361.5 — a massive 3.1 points more than Ayushi Podder (358.4). Surabhi Bharadwaj Rapole, another shooter to do well in the trials, took the third spot. Ashi, the Asian Games bronze medallist, has been the most consistent with 592-39x and 592-32x in the two qualifications.
Rudrankksh qualified at first place in the second trial (592-26x) and finished in third place in the final that was won by Aishwary and followed by Swapnil in second place. In the first trial too he shot an impressive 592-33X in the qualification. Both will carry the confidence into their main 10m air rifle event starting on Thursday.