Divyansh eyes 2019 World Cup Final repeat in Delhi

NEW DELHI: In the world of international sports, it isn't wise to pin an athlete's worth on glory achieved in one particular event or reaching a milepost. Neeraj Chopra's greatness cannot be attached to his eclipsing the 90m-mark in javelin throw. Likewise, George Best's stature in football cannot be diminished by the fact that he never played the FIFA World Cup. Divyansh Singh Panwar, the 21-year-old air rifle shooter, is one such athlete whose achievements in the sport cannot be weighed in terms of specific successes or milestones.

Having lost out in the Olympic trials and thereby missing the flight to Paris earlier this year, the Jaipur lad - an Olympian, national record holder, former world record holder and world no 1, double ISSF World Cup Final and four-time ISSF World Cup gold medal winner in Olympic events - has his eyes firmly set on the upcoming New Delhi ISSF World Cup Final, to be held at the Karni Singh Shooting Range (KSSR) here next month. He believes a repeat of his 2019 performance - a double gold - at the Putian World Final in 2019 as a 16-year-old will put him on route to a second shot at Olympic glory in Los Angeles 2028.

Speaking from his training base at KSSR, Divyansh said, "I have stopped thinking about too many things because it is not humanly possible. I have changed my technique over the last 12 months and now shoot faster and focus on 2-3 things only. It is giving me better results as well."

Divyansh will be one of the only four Indian shooters in the 23-strong squad to have received a direct entry into the prestigious event, highlighting his strong international form this year. Talking about the trials where he finished fifth in a closely-fought battle which was decided on the last day, he said, "I gave it my all. I guess it was not to be. The others shot phenomenally well as well."

The Cairo World Cup gold Divyansh won in February this year was his first individual WC gold and came with a world record (later broken by reigning Olympic champion Sheng Lihao of China), raising hopes after two fairly placid years in 2022 and 2023. It was his third individual WC medal after he won his first in Beijing, a silver, in 2019. He also won a bronze at the New Delhi WC in 2021.

His best year till date has to be 2019, where he not only won those double gold in the WC Finals beating the likes of present 3 Positions Olympic champion Yukun Liu and Chinese rifle legend Yang Haoran among others but also won his first individual WC medal as well as the gold in the Asian Championships.

Going into the Tokyo Olympics, Divyansh was what they call a "sure medal" in India. He was the world number one, shooting high scores consistently and winning medals everywhere. Qualifying for the final was considered a given but things didn't turn out the way he wanted.

"I have put the past behind me. I also got into a bit of bad company in between but all that is behind me. I am a more assured shooter now. The last World Cup Final took me to Tokyo. I am looking at this one to take me to Los Angeles as I definitely want another shot at the Olympics," he added.


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