New Delhi [India], October 12 : A 23-member Indian shooting team is poised to participate in the ISSF World Cup Final 2024, scheduled to begin in New Delhi on Tuesday, October 15. The prestigious event will be held at the Dr Karni Singh Shooting Range, featuring competitions across rifle, pistol, and shotgun categories.
Indian shooters will compete in all 12 individual Olympic shooting events, with the matches being live-streamed for fans worldwide. The Indian squad includes nine members from the Paris 2024 Olympics team and a total of 12 Olympians.
Among them are rifle shooter Arjun Babuta, pistol shooters Arjun Singh Cheema, Anish Bhanwala, Vijayveer Sidhu, and Rhythm Sangwan, along with shotgun shooters Rajeshwari Kumari, Shreyasi Singh, Anantjeet Singh Naruka, and Maheshwari Chauhan.
Additionally, two-time Olympian Mairaj Ahmad Khan, Rio 2016 Olympian Chain Singh, and Divyansh Singh Panwar, who competed in Tokyo 2020, are also part of the team.
Direct qualification for the ISSF World Cup Final 2024 was granted to individual medallists from the Paris 2024 Olympics. However, notable absentees include Manu Bhaker and Swapnil Kusale, who secured medals in the women's 10m air pistol and men's 50m rifle 3 positions categories, respectively. Sarabjot Singh, who won a 10m air pistol mixed team bronze with Bhaker, is also not part of the squad.
Several Indian shooters qualified based on their rankings, including 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). The remaining squad members secured their spots through the host country quota, determined by India's domestic rankings.
Aishwary Pratap Singh Tomar, India's most successful shooter at the Asian Games 2023, is notably absent from the team. Last year, at the ISSF World Cup Final in Doha, Anish Bhanwala clinched India's sole medal in the men's 25m rapid fire pistol event and will return to compete in the same category this year.
In the current ISSF World Cup series standings, India ranks fifth, having secured three golds, three silvers, and three bronze medals. The People's Republic of China leads the table with seven golds, seven silvers, and five bronze medals.
The ISSF World Cup Final 2024 will conclude on Thursday, October 17.
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