Mehuli Ghosh is among the four best women air rifle shooters of India who have qualified for the World Cup Finals to be staged in Putian, China, from November 17 to 23.

Anjum Moudgil, Apurvi Chandela and Elavenil Valarivan have also earned a berth.

For Mehuli, the qualification is all the more special as in the Rio de Janeiro World Cup, she had to shoot in the minimum qualification score (MQS) section and it is extremely difficult to gain a finals berth from there.

Since she had to shoot in the MQS, she could not earn a medal for India, but her score was good enough to help her qualify for the finals.

“I’m very excited to have qualified for this elite match. I have heard a lot about the finals from Joydeep (Karmakar) Sir. It will be a very high-intensity match and only the best of the best in the world are invited by ISSF.

“I am sure it will be tough, but I am not getting worried about it,” Mehuli said over the phone.

“If I have to qualify for the Olympics and dream of doing well at the Tokyo Games, then I have to be stronger and face tougher challenges. Facing challenges should be a regular part of my training. In Putian, I will try to follow the basics.”

Karmakar, who is Mehuli’s coach and mentor, had qualified for the ISSF World Cup Finals in 2010 and finished sixth. In 2012, he narrowly missed a medal at the London Olympics in 50m rifle prone.

Chances of Mehuli’s Olympic qualification has improved significantly after the Rio World Cup. She is only 0.3 points away from Moudgil, the second-placed Indian who is eyeing a Tokyo berth.

India have earned two quota places in 10m air rifle. Apurvi is leading the pack as of now.

With two more events left before the Indian Olympic team is finalised, Mehuli has a chance of overtaking Anjum.

Mehuli will also take part in the Asian Championships from November 3 to 11.