It is the toughest event in rifle and pistol. The rifle 3-position event demands 120 shots during qualification, 40 each in kneeling, prone and standing positions. Thereafter, it is a 45-shot final.
Unlike air events, in which youngsters shoot from 10 metres to strike world class scores very early in their career, the 50m event requires considerable experience and expertise.
Remarkable progress
Given this backdrop, the 19-year-old Ayushi Podder has done remarkably well to be among the six shortlisted for the Tokyo Olympics. Ayushi has had impressive scores of 1174 and 1168 in the Olympic trials.
From shooting 1121 in the junior section of the 2018 World championship in Korea, to scores of 1137 and 1154 in the junior World Cups in Suhl, Ayushi has come a long way in a short time.
Also read: Olympics shooting selections: Saurabh chalks up his best in air pistol
“Ayushi is one of the most promising and consistent juniors,” says the high performance coach of the Indian rifle team, Olympian Deepali Deshpande.
Ayushi’s father Pankaj Podder, who works with the Railways, is himself a national-level shooter, and internationally qualified coach.
It was Pankaj who initiated Mehuli Ghosh, Commonwealth Games air rifle silver medallist, into shooting, along with his daughter, when he set up the Bull’s Eye Academy in 2014.
Groomed for 2024
Having done well at the Khelo India Youth Games, Ayushi was recently inducted into TOPS and is part of the development group being groomed for the 2024 Games.
Ayushi, a brilliant pencil-sketch artist, has also trained in Odissi under Dona Ganguly, wife of former India captain Sourav Ganguly. Now, during the lockdown, she relaxes with Western dance and music, and keeps fit through yoga.
