ISSF World Cup | India see a record 14 shooters qualify for finals in China
After finishing atop the medal tally table in all the four World Cups held in Delhi, Beijing, Munich, and Rio de Janeiro, the Indian shooting contingent would see as many as 14 athletes taking part in the ISSF World Cup finals in China. The finals would be held in Pultan from November 17 to 23.
Manu Bhaker and Saurabh Chaudhary’s gold feat at the ISSF World Cup in Rio de Janeiro last week saw India finish the Brazilian tournament at the top yet again, taking India’s tally to a whopping 22 medals including an awe-inspiring 16 gold.
Hence, it wasn’t a surprise that a record 14 Indian shooters were seen qualifying for the finals in rifle and pistol. The International Shooting Sport Federation has further strengthened the field to 18 shooters in each event now, instead of the traditional top-12. All the shooters in the air events would also be eligible to compete in the mixed team competition.
In the air rifle event, India would be seeing Divyansh Singh Panwar in the men’s category while star shooters like Anjum Moudgil, Apurvi Chandela, Elavenil Valarivan, and Mehuli Ghosh would be competing in the women’s category. The Rifle 3-position event will have Akhil Sheoran and Sanjeev Rajput competing in the men’s category, while the women’s category will see Anjum Moudgil.
India’s best chance would be in the Air pistol event, where the likes of Saurabh Chaudhary, Abhishek Verma, and Shahzar Rizvi start for the men’s while Yashaswini Singh Deswal and Manu Bhaker take part in the women’s category. The Rapid-fire pistol event will see Anish Bhanwala in the men’s category as Rahi Sarnobat and Manu Bhaker compete in the women’s category.
