Para shooters Rubina, Swaroop secure Olympics quota through bipartite rule

Subhash Rana, the national para shooting coach, had said they applied for the wildcard after the pair missed out on quota places by a whisker. Rubina missed winning the quota by a fraction of a point, so we have applied for wildcard for her and Swaroop, Rana had said in May.

Indian para shooters Rubina Francis and Swaroop Unhalkar on Wednesday secured quota for Paris Paralympics under bipartite rule, taking the total number of shooters at the Games to 10. The Paralympic Committee of India had applied for two bipartite (wildcard) spots for Rubina (women’s 10m air pistol SH1), who has a world ranking of No. 2, and Unhalkar (men’s 10m air rifle SH1).

Rubina, a gold medallist in the Hangzhou Asian Games last year, and Unhalkar have been consistent performers in international events, prompting PCI to apply for bipartite spot. Subhash Rana, the national para shooting coach, had said they applied for the wildcard after the pair missed out on quota places by a whisker. “Rubina missed winning the quota by a fraction of a point, so we have applied for wildcard for her and Swaroop,” Rana had said in May.