India, Jan. 4 -- Tilottama Sen was dejected when she failed to retain her Paris Olympics quota in the 10m air rifle and was left out of the Indian team. It wasn't that she performed poorly in the Olympics selection trials, but the competition for quota spots in India was so intense that decimal points decided the outcome.

The 17-year-old shooting talent was coming off a brilliant 2023, having won silver at the Asian Championships, showing consistency and big match temperament. For two months after missing out on the Olympics berth though, Tilottama put her rifle aside. She then took up a new event - 50m rifle three positions - for the first time. Even last year, her scores were not high enough to earn her a place in the Indian team.

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