Home / Other sports / Shooting: Team India for Almaty and Lonato Shotgun..

Shooting: Team India for Almaty and Lonato Shotgun World Cup 2023 announced

In the skeet events too, India's performance at the Shotgun World Cup in Doha was quite impressive, yet they had to return without any medal.

By Abhiruchi Rout | Apr 21, 2023 | 3 Min Read

The National Rifle Association of India (NRAI) has revealed the team that will be representing India in two of the upcoming shotgun World Cups 2023 in Almaty, Kazakhstan, and Lonato, Italy. Two different groups of shooters had the opportunity to compete in the previous two shotgun ISSF World Cups held in Doha and Larnaca. Only minor changes have been made to the team for the following two World Cups, which were finalized on Thursday.

The Indian contingent will be led by Prithviraj Tondaiman, Bhowneesh Mendiratta, Shreyasi Singh, Mairaj Ahmad Khan, and Ganemat Sekhon. At the ISSF World Cup 2023 in Doha, Prithviraj Tondaiman claimed his maiden World cup medal by winning the bronze medal with 20 hits from the first 25 targets in the men’s trap event. Prithviraj Tondaiman then paired up with Shreyasi, finished sixth in the mixed trap event in Doha.

In the skeet events too, India’s performance at the Shotgun World Cup in Doha was quite impressive, yet they had to return without any medal. In the women’s skeet, Ganemat equaled national record shooting 120 out of 125 in the qualifications, but finished ninth. Bhowneesh had earlier secured India a Paris Olympics quota, at the 2022 Shotgun World Championships. However, in the Larnaca world cup, India had to return empty-handed.

Other Important Shotgun tournaments

In addition to these competitions, India will participate in the shotgun World Cup taking place in Cairo, Egypt, from April 25 to May 5, 2023. The goal of providing exposure in non-Olympic quota World Cups is to prepare the athletes for the World Championship 2023 in Baku, Azerbaijan, scheduled for August, and the Asian Championship in Changwon, Korea, in October. Both the World Championship and the Asian Championship, which is the continental meeting for Asian athletes, offer Olympic quota places for the Paris 2024 Olympics next year.

The Asian Championship in Korea provides 24 quota places in total, with two each allocated for the 12 events in men’s and women’s rifle, pistol, and shotgun events. It is important to note that the Asian Games 2022, scheduled in Hangzhou, China, from September 21, will not offer Olympic quota places in the sport shooting. On the other hand, the World Championship 2023 will provide 48 quota places in total, with four each in the 12 events.

Other tournaments where Indian shooters will have the opportunities to secure Olympic quota places will be in the next year – the Asian shotgun championship in Kuwait and the Asian rifle and pistol championship in Jakarta, Indonesia. These two competitions will offer a combined 24 quota places.

Indian Squad for the ISSF World Cups 2023 in Cairo, Egypt, from April 25 to May 5

Trap

Men: Zoravar Singh Sandhu, Prithviraj Tondaiman, Bhowneesh Mendiratta
Women: Rajeshwari Kumari, Preeti Rajak, Shreyasi Singh

Skeet

Men: Anant Jeet Singh Naruka, Gurjoat Singh Khangura, Mairaj Ahmad Khan, Sheeraz Sheikh
Women: Ganemat Sekhon, Darshna Rathore, Maheshwari Chauhan, Muffaddal Zahra Deesawala, Sanjana Sood