New Delhi: Commonwealth Games gold medallist shooter Anish Bhanwala is meticulously planning his path to the 2020 Olympics and admitted that his first step in the ‘process’ will be to secure a quota for Tokyo Games in the upcoming World Cup which begins in February at home.
The 16-year-old Indian shot a CWG Games record score of 30 to claim the top prize in the men’s 25m rapid fire pistol event last year. The victory made Anish, then 15, the country’s youngest-ever gold medallist at the quadrennial event.
The Haryana-born shooter has bagged several international titles including the Common Wealth Shooting Championship 2017 (Brisbane), ISSF World Cup 2018 (Guadalajara) and ISSF Junior World Cup 2018 (Sydney). The teenager made heads turn in 2017 when he won the 25m standard pistol gold with a world record score of 579 at the ISSF Junior World Championships.
“My target is to do well in the World Cups this year, where quotas for the Olympics will be on offer. The main one is the World Cup in Delhi in February, it’s in my home ground,” Anish told this agency.
“It’s a step by step process, I am focusing on qualifications for the time being, once that is done then I will think about the Olympics,” he added. Among the Indian shooters only Apurvi Chandela and Anjum Moudgil have managed to secure quotas for the Olympics, both in the women’s 10m air rifle event.
