Shooting: Twenty-three member Indian squad named for ISSF World Cup Final, Manu Bhaker opts out

Hyderabad: The National Rifle Association of India (NRAI) has named a 23-member Indian shooting squad for the upcoming ISSF World Cup Final. The ISSF World Cup Final will be held at the Dr Karni Singh Shooting Range in New Delhi from October 13 to October 18.

The ISSF World Cup Final will be held across rifle, pistol and shotgun categories with multiple events scheduled in each category.

The Indian shooting squad has nine shooters who competed at the Paris Olympics 2024. Rhythm Sangwan is the only shooter to compete in two events. Paris Olympics 2024 double bronze medalist Manu Bhaker will not be in action as she has opted out of the tournament.

Sultan Singh, the secretary general of the NRAI, said while the expectations from the shooters are high, especially after the Paris Olympics, the team is confident of a good show at the season-ending tournament. “We have a strong squad of proven performers for the ISSF year-ender and look forward to a strong performance. Expectations from the sport have reached sky-high after the Paris performance,” Singh said.

Four shooters – Divyansh Singh Panwar (men’s 10m air rifle), Sonam Uttam Maskar (women’s 10m air rifle), Rhythm Sangwan (women’s 10m air pistol and 25m pistol) and Ganemat Sekhon (women’s skeet) have been selected by ISSF directly.

The rest of the Indian squad was selected based on their Olympic trials rankings.

Seasoned shooters and Olympians Mairaj Ahmed Khan (men’s skeet) and Chain Singh (men’s 50m rifle 3 positions) have been included in the Indian squad.

Arjun Babuta (men’s 10m air rifle), Arjun Singh Cheema (men’s 10m air pistol), Anish and Vijayveer Sidhu (men’s 25m rapid-fire pistol), Shreyasi Singh and Rajeshwari Kumari (women’s trap), Maheshwari Chauhan (women’s skeet) and Anant Jeet Singh Naruka (men’s skeet) are the shooters who are a part of the Indian squad who have competed in the Paris Olympics 2024.

Indian shooting squad for ISSF World Cup Finals:

Air Rifle men: Divyansh Singh Panwar, Arjun Babuta

Air Rifle women: Sonam Uttam Maskar, Tilottama Sen

50M Rifle 3P men: Chain Singh, Akhil Sheoran

50M Rifle 3P women: Ashi Chouksey, Nischal

Air Pistol men: Arjun Singh Cheema, Varun Tomar

Air Pistol women: Rhythm Sangwan, Surbhi Rao

25M Rapid Fire Pistol men: Anish, Vijayveer Sidhu

25M Sports Pistol women: Rhythm Sangwan, Simranpreet Kaur Brar

Trap men: Vivaan Kapoor, Bhowneesh Mendiratta

Trap women: Rajeshwari Kumari, Shreyasi Singh

Skeet men: Anantjeet Singh Naruka, Mairaj Ahmad Khan

Skeet women: Ganemat Sekhon, Maheshwari Chauhan