Another day, another gold, Yashaswini Singh Deswal books Olympic quota in shooting

Along with this win of Gold, Yashaswini has now joined the list of other shooters to attain Olympics quota for India

Feminism has taken the whole world by storm today and we see people talking about it on a daily basis. Tremendous movements, forums, conferences are being organized around the globe in order to make the women aware of the movement of Feminism. But do we really know what exactly Feminism means? Though this is undoubtedly a topic of debate and is unending because there are opinions that differ from person to person. But what I personally feel about feminism is that it is not just about the rights of a woman and giving her an equal status in the society, but it is also about working hard towards achieving your dreams and celebrating your heart out when those dreams turn into reality. Such is the dream that was once seen by 22-year old Yashaswini Singh Deswal who emerged victorious by securing India’s ninth Olympic quota in shooting after she fired her way to the women's 10m air pistol gold in the ISSF World Cup Rio de Janeiro on August 31.

Deswal, who is also the former junior world champion showcased her game among all her senior opponents and recorded 236.7 in the eight-women finals of the season’s fourth ISSF World Cup for pistol and rifle shooters.

The victory that she has thumped here is really commendable because the 22-year-old dominantly defeated Ukraine’s World Number 1 Olena Kostevych who claimed the silver with 234.8, while Serbia's Jasmina Milavonovic bagged the bronze with 215.7.

Yashaswini cruised into the finals after attaining the top spot in the qualifiers by sprinting with a score of 582. She kickstarted her campaign with 10.1, 10.5 and 10.1 and was third after the five-shot series of round one. Her 10.6 shot aided her to climb to the number two spot and then she was at the top with a 10.1. At 10.0 she was done with her final shot making it at the top of the scoreboard.

Joins Olympics Quota

Along with this Gold medal, Yashaswini has now joined the list of other shooters along with Anjum Moudgil, Apurvi Chandela, Saurabh Chaudhary, Abhishek Verma, Divyansh Singh Panwar, Rahi Sarnobat, Manu Bhaker, and Sanjeev Rajput who have attained quotas for India for 2020 Tokyo Olympics.

Abhishek Verma and Elavenil Valarivan have already won gold in the World Cup in men’s 10m Air Pistol and women’s 10m Air Rifle, and the 22-year-old has added to the list by beating the numero uno shooter. With this win, India is now on the top of medals tally at the World Cup with five medals in hand in last four days. India now has three golds, one silver, and one bronze so far in the World Cup.

When it comes to a tournament like the Olympics, India has never been an outstanding country in terms of winning the medals. Even in 2016, India left Rio de Janeiro in 2016 Olympics with only two medals, saving its pride from the humiliation of returning empty-handed for the first time since Barcelona 1992.

It was a very hurtful moment for the whole nation when many Indian athletes had to return home empty-handed after coming very close to the medal haul in 2016. Bindra who played his last Olympics in 2016, narrowly missed out the podium by a half-point in the men’s 10m air rifle.

But this young lad looks really promising, despite it being her very first senior world cup, she has managed to clinch the gold for the country. And if things go fine with her, she might secure another medal in the Olympics for the nation. The 22-year-old had earlier won gold in the Junior World Championships in 2017 with a score of 235.9 in the final. Not only this, but she had also won a silver in an event at the Junior Asian Championships in Kuwait City in 2014 before securing another silver at the junior ISSF World Cup in Suhl, Germany in 2016. Therefore, it is not at all the case that the international tournaments are new for the player, she has a lot of experience, it is just that now she is competing at a senior level where the players are more established, and she is a rookie in that group.

Indian sports canvas looks glorious and prepared for the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, seeking maximum medals for the nation.

(Disclaimer: The opinions expressed are the personal views of the author. The facts and opinions appearing in the article do not reflect the views of Devdiscourse and Devdiscourse does not claim any responsibility for the same.)