Deepali Deshpande, chief rifle coach of the junior Indian team and a former Olympian herself, said here on Wednesday that air pistol shooter Manu Bhaker is a favourite to win an Olympic medal at the 2020 Tokyo Games, though the same cannot be said of the other youngsters.

Bhaker's latest triumph came in the ongoing Youth Olympic Games in Buenos Aires on Tuesday when she tallied 236.5 points for gold in 10m air pistol.

"Manu is too good for the Youth Olympic Games," Deshpande told DNA on the sidelines of a media interaction arranged as a precursor to the Sports Journalists Association of Mumbai annual awards scheduled for Thursday.

"She is too good and is expected to win an Olympic medal. But the others are still too young to be thought of medal prospect for 2020. Tokyo Games is too early for them. They are teenagers and will undergo a lot of changes physically, mentally, emotionally. Perhaps, 2024 is a realistic target for the others."

Deshpande is a central figure in the National Rifle Association of India's vision for the future that began about six years ago with her and former ace marksman Jaspan Rana in charge of the junior shooters, and the results of which are showing now.

The current year has, perhaps, been India's finest in shooting as far as results from the juniors are concerned. Haryana's 16-year-old Bhaker has taken the world by storm since becoming the youngest Indian to win a gold at the World Cup in Guadalajara, Mexico, in March. She began with so much promise that after the Mexico feat, she won 10m air pistol gold at the Commonwealth Games in April and was the hot favourite in the Asian Games in Jakarta. Bhaker not winning any medal at the Asiad came as a shock for the common public but not for those who were involved with the sport. That she created a new Asiad mark in 25m air pistol did not matter to the commoners.

And, when she won a gold on Tuesday, she was hailed as regaining her lost touch.

Among the other teenagers who rose to prominence are 16-year-old Sandeep Chaudhary (gold in men's 10m air pistol), 15-year-old Shardul Vihan (silver in men's double trap), 19-year-old Lakshay Sheoran (silver in men's trap), all the Asiad and 19-year-old Elavenil Valarivan won gold in ISSF Junior World Cup with a new world record in 10 air rifle.

While lauding the NRAI's efforts to encourage talented shooters and giving them adequate facilities and opportunities to compete, the 49-year-old Deshpande lamented the state of shooting in Maharashtra state.

"The shooting scene in the state is really sad. Thane Municipal Corporation opened a shooting range, which is closer to my residence in Mulund. But as per the tender notices, I am ineligible to train and coach there. If I am not allowed to use the facilities, that is sad state of affairs. The state government has to work very hard on its sports policies. The system has to change."

She said that among the 14 rifle shooters in the junior national camp, only one was from Maharashtra, and that too because her mother is a former shooter and she has access to shooting facilities. "What about others?" Deshpande questioned.

But the scene at the national level has improved, Deshpande said. "Once can see a big change in the policies, especially last year. The CWG, Asian Games results are remarkable, more so the Asiad as the number of events have reduced by more than half and the medal count has been the same (9). These results are system-generated results and will stay," said the former Olympian shooter.