Tokyo 2020: Shooter Deepak Kumar secures India’s 10th Olympic berth

Deepak Kumar has secured India’s 10th Tokyo 2020 Olympics berth in shooting after winning the men’s 10m air rifle bronze medal at the 14th Asian Championships in Doha on Tuesday.

The marksman celebrated his birthday in style by qualifying for next year's mega event.  The 32-year-old shot 145 in the final and qualified for the eight-man final in third place with a score of 626.8.

Deepak had won a bronze medal at the 2018 ISSF World Cup in Guadalajara last year.

News Flash:
10th Olympic Quota for India in Shooting via Deepak Kumar in 10m Air Rifle event; Won Bronze medal in Asian Shooting Championships.
So India now has max available 2 Quotas each in Men's & Women's events of 10m Air Rifle & 10m Air Pistol events. pic.twitter.com/G1xjR50PjI

— India_AllSports (@India_AllSports) November 5, 2019

India now have secured 10 Tokyo quotas in rifle and pistol shooting and lies behind China (25 quotas) and Korea (12) in the Asian region. India now has max available two quotas each in Men's & Women's events of 10m Air Rifle & 10m Air Pistol events.

As one of the most experienced Indian shooters participating in the event, Deepak lived up to the expectations by managing to win a quota. He is the second Indian shooter to earn an Olympic berth after Divyansh Singh Panwar, who secured it in April.