The final day of the ISSF Final Olympic Qualification Championship Shotgun in Doha saw shooter Maheshwari Chauhan secure a silver medal in the women’s skeet event, securing India’s 21st quota spot for the Paris Olympics 2024. In a shoot-off for gold, Maheshwari, who was playing in her first ISSF Final, lost to Francisca Crovetto Chadid of Chile 3–4. The two had tied at 54 hits in the 60-shot final. It is India’s second Paris quota place in the women’s skeet.
“I am thrilled. There has been a lot of hard work over the years to get here. I am a bit bummed about the shoot-off, but overall, it has been very satisfying,” said Maheshwari after the final.
The Indian started the day atop the qualification standings, but her final round score of 23 guaranteed her a spot in the top six final, fourth from the top. She did, however, set a new national record with her 121.
Assem Orybay of Kazakhstan, Rigina Meftakhetdinova of Azerbaijan, and Victoria Larsson of Sweden, the top qualifier, faced Maheshwari. Chadid had already clinched a quota spot in previous competitions, and Jiang Yiting of China, the sixth qualifier, was ineligible due to her country having already used up all of its allotted quotas.
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After 20 shots in the first elimination round, the Indian trailed Chadid in the standings after missing two targets.
In the third shoot-off round, Maheshwari had three more chances to win the gold, but it was not to be as she completely missed her double, giving the gold to Chadid. However, the primary target of qualifying in the Paris Olympics 2024 was accomplished.
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