A lot of the pressure has been off Akhil Sheoran since August last year. The bronze in the 50m rifle 3 positions in Baku was not only his first individual medal at the ISSF World Championships, but it also helped secure a quota for India at the Paris Olympics. However, that spot is wide open for any shooter who holds form closer to the Games. And Sheoran is well aware of what’s at stake.
As he lined up for the final of Match 2 at the Grand Prix Wroclawia & Dolnego Slaska in Poland, alongside him were his equally accomplished countrymen, Niraj Kumar and Swapnil Kusale. Sheoran, though, hardly flinched, smashing the world record with a score of 468.4 en route the gold. The previous mark of 466.1 was held by Jiri Privratsky of the Czech Republic. Jany Patrik of Slovakia took second spot (466.2), while Kumar (456.0) and Kusale (442.9) settled for third and fourth position, respectively.
It’s been a recurring theme this year, and time and again, the 28-year-old has proved why he deserves a spot on the Indian team in Paris. At the Asian Shooting Championships in Jakarta in January, he took gold while pipping compatriot Aishwary Pratap Singh Tomar by the narrowest of margins. After scoring 586 to make the final, he held his nerve to register 460.2, while Tomar finished second with 459.
A few weeks later, he followed it up with a bronze at the ISSF World Cup in Cairo, qualifying second with a score of 589 while managing 451.8 in the final. It was only his third medal at a World Cup.
Sheoran has been a work in progress over the last few years. The talent was evident ever since he picked up his first international medal as a junior, a silver in the 50m rifle 3 positions event at the ISSF Junior Cup in Suhl in 2015. Three years later on his senior World Cup debut in Guadalajara, he clinched gold in the same event.
Sheoran’s teammates have doubled up as his biggest rivals, constantly keeping him on his toes at trials and competitions alike. At the Asian Games in Hangzhou last year, he picked up gold in the 50 metre rifle 3 position event alongside Tomar and Kusale, while also posting a new world record. Over the last few years, he has been honing his skills under coach Deepali Deshpande and the results have come when they matter most.
At 28 years, Akhil Sheoran is among the older shooters in an Indian contingent that seems to be getting younger by the day. But age should hardly be a concern if he can continue finding his mark in the months ahead.
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