New Delhi, May 28 The National Rifle Association of India (NRAI) has announced a 23-member rifle and pistol squad for the upcoming International Shooting Sport Federation (ISSF) World Cup in Munich, scheduled for an end-of-the-month start. Top shooters like Sarabjot Singh, Manu Bhaker, Rhythm Sangwan, Esha Singh, Rudranksh Patil, Anish, and Mehuli Ghosh have been included in the squad. The top three shooters in action during the first-ever Olympic Selection Trials, mostly make up the squad. India will participate in all the 10 Olympic events.
Aishwary Pratap Singh Tomar, Swapnil Kusale, Akhil Sheoran, Sift Kaur Samra, Anjum Moudgil, Vijayveer Sidhu, and Bhavesh Shekhawat are the other known shooter that have been picked in the team.
Speaking before the departure of the squad, Kalikesh Narayan Sing Deo, Senior Vice-President, NRAI, said, “Some shooters had some obvious queries about the programme, given it is in the lead up to the Olympics, but we had a world with all them and convinced them of the importance Shooting at the Munich World Cup and Camp in France thereafter.
"We have always been flexible on personal coaches and all we have said is that they adhere to the SOPs and maintain basic discipline. We have also spoken about the importance of a common and jointly worked out minimum training programme during this important period, whether during a world cup, camp or when at home, which is monitored actively by the High-Performance Director/National Coaches,” he said.
He added, “If such basic protocols can be followed, personal coaches are always welcome. We should all get together for the success of Team India.”
Speaking specifically on the Munich World Cup, he said, “For Munich, I would stress more on the fact that this is an important part of the exposure leading to Olympics and we are flexible to accommodate individual needs of shooters including the involvement of personal coaches.
"We understand that some shooters might have personal training plans so we have been flexible and given them the option to choose the number of events for example or play as RPO shooters. The focus is to be in a competitive environment, in a tournament which is played in a format similar to the Olympics,” he added.
The team after competing at Munich World Cup will proceed to a camp in France before heading back for a two-week break at home. They will then assemble for a departure camp in Bhopal, before departing for the Olympic Games.
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