21-year-old Divyansh Singh Panwar broke the 10-metre air rifle world record en route to securing a gold medal at the ISSF World Cup 2024. The youngster will be vying for a berth at the Paris Olympics later this year
Indian shooter Divyansh Singh Panwar exorcised the demons of a disappointing run at the Tokyo Olympic Games 2020 by winning the gold at the ISSF World Cup 2024 in Cairo on January 28, Sunday. En route to securing the topmost podium, the 21-year-old broke the world record in the 10m air rifle event set by China's Sheng Lihao at the bygone Asian Games. Divyansh shot 253.7 in the event finale, marginally better than the 253.3 Sheng had shot in Hangzhou. (More Sports News)
“Coming into the final, I was confident about the process and technique and my aim was to focus on my scores and shooting. It feels good to see the hard training reaping dividends,” the youngster told ISSF TV following his triumph.
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Born in Jaipur, the prodigious Divyansh burst onto the shooting scene in 2019, winning the gold medal at the 2019 ISSF World Cup Putian leg in the 10m air rifle category. He accentuated his feat by helping the Indian team win the corresponding prize in the team event, having previously picked up several individual and team golds in various stages of the tour.
By winning the silver medal at the 2019 World Cup, Beijing leg, Divyansh had secured a quota for India at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, but, amid the weight of expectations attached to him, could only finish a measly 32nd in the eventual finals.
Apart from his World Cup accomplishments, Divyansh had also won two golds at the Junior World Cup in 2018, albeit both in team events. He added more accolades to his burgeoning trophy cabinet in 2021, by claiming a gold and two silvers at the World University Games in Chengdu.
Divyansh remains a contender for India for the Paris Olympic Games 2024. India have, thus far, secured 19 quotas at the games, a tally second only to China's 22.