Indian Shooting contingent to resume Olympic quest with a virtual contest

The competition will feature several of India’s top shooters.

After a pandemic-ridden 2020, Indian shooting is finally set to get back on its feet. The country’s top shooters will feature in the inaugural edition of the Online Asian Shooting Championship to be held across two days. The development was confirmed by Secretary of the National Rifle Association of India (NRAI), Rajeev Bhatia, according to the Hindustan Times.

The competition will feature several of India’s top shooters, with Olympic hopefuls Manu Bhaker and Saurabh Chaudhary among the participants. Crucially, the ongoing selection trials being held at the Dr Karni Singh Shooting Ranges will be of supreme importance. Performance in these trials would factor in the final decision regarding selections said Bhatia.

Competition Format

According to the secretary of the NRAI, each Asian country will be allowed to enter three participants in one discipline. In addition, the event will consist of three disciplines in total –skeet, air rifle and pistol, with a men’s and women’s section for each.

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“Top three shooters in each of the events will be given a chance to participate,” he stated.

Shooting for Gold

Indian shooters have been successful in winning quota places in both men’s and women’s sections in air rifle and pistol during the qualification cycle. Anjum Moudgil and Apurv CHandela got places in the women’s 10m air rifle event. Meanwhile, Deepak Kumar and Divyansh Singh Panwar made the cut in the men’s section.

Saurabh Chaudhary and Abhishek Verma won berths in the men’s 10m air pistol. Elsewhere, Manu Bhaker and Yashashwini Singh made the cut in the women’s section. Angad Vir Singh Bajwa and Mairaj Ahmad Khan have also managed to win quota places in men’s skeet.

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The Indian contingent last featured in the 2019 Asian Shooting Championship, a qualification event for the Olympics. The event which is being held virtually on January 29 and 30 will be the first of the season.

“The virtual tournament will be a good platform to test the preparation for the Olympics,” a national-level coach explained.

The NRAI would also be sending a squad to the World Cup in Cairo, which is scheduled to be held from February 22nd to March 3rd. Moreover, the second World Cup would be held at the Dr. Karni Singh Shooting Ranges from March 18 to 29 and will feature shotgun, rifle and pistol events.

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