Paris Olympics experience will 'help me grow': Ramita Jindal

Chateauroux, July 29
Ramita Jindal finished seventh in the finals of the 10m Air Rifle final with a score of 145.3, in what was a missed opportunity for the Indian shooter as she was at fourth place in the standings before faltering towards the end.

The 20-year-old sensation making her debut at the Games in Paris believes that her loss will be a learning experience and help her ‘grow more.’

"I will fondly remember this Olympics campaign as it was my first time at the Games and I believe I have learned a lot from my time here and it was a great platform for me. It was the experience that will help me grow more. I lost confidence in a few shots but I’ll be more confident next time,” Ramita told IANS.

Despite starting off strong, Ramita looked like she had her eyes set on replicating Manu Bhaker’s achievement from Sunday and was in the top four till the second series due to impressive shots of 10.4, 10.1, 10.7, and 10.6 but her final shot of the second series saw her hit 9.7 and fall considerably in the standings and she found herself in the elimination shootout against Norway’s Jeannete, whom she beat to push herself to the next elimination round, where she was eliminated in seventh place.

She had previously represented India at the 2022 Asian Games where she won a silver medal in the team events and a bronze in the individual event. Ramita was also part of the team that won the gold medal in the 10m air rifle team event in the 2023 Baku World Championship.

The 20-year-old also shared what plans she has in store after returning to India. "There is no plan in place but I’ll be going home because it's been a long time since I have been home and it will be my vacation spot as I have not met my family for quite a while. I’ll spend time with them and then decide my course of action,” Ramita said.

Ramita had advanced to the women's 10m Air Rifle final after finishing fifth in the qualification round on Sunday. She came back from behind to overtake teammate Valarivan Elavenil in the final series of shots and finished with a total of 631.5 but failed to replicate the performance in the finals.