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What are India's shooting squads for the World Championships and Asian Games?

The National Rifle Association of India (NRAI) has officially revealed the Indian shooting team squad for the forthcoming Asian Games 2023 and the ISSF World Championships 2023.

By Abhiruchi Rout | Jul 3, 2023 | 4 Min Read

The National Rifle Association of India (NRAI) has officially revealed the Indian shooting team squad for the forthcoming Asian Games 2023 and the ISSF World Championships 2023. The final selection of this elite group of rifle and pistol shooters followed a series of rigorous national trials that took place at New Delhi’s Dr. Karni Singh Shooting Range. The NRAI had previously announced a tentative shotgun shooting team for the events in Hangzhou and Baku.

The Indian squad, consisting of 11 shooters for pistol and 10 shooters for rifle events, is preparing to represent their nation at the Asian Games in Hangzhou, China, scheduled from September 23 to October 8. The team includes decorated Olympians Manu Bhaker and Divyansh Singh Panwar, as well as current men’s 10m air rifle champion, Rudrankksh Balasaheb Patil.

A 22-member rifle and pistol team will represent India at the World Championships 2023, set to take place from August 14 to September 1 in Azerbaijan. While the pistol teams for both high-profile events will remain unchanged, the rifle squad for the Asian Games 2023 will see three adjustments. In terms of participation rules, each country can send up to five shooters for the men’s and women’s rifle events for the Asian Games, while the world championships have no such restrictions.

For the World Championships 2023 in Baku, Hriday Hazarika steps in for Rudrankksh Patil in the men’s air rifle squad. Swapnil Kusale, who has already secured a quota for the Paris 2024 Olympics, will participate in the men’s 50m 3P rifle event at the Hangzhou Asian Games 2023. However, Niraj Kumar will replace him in the Baku-bound team. This strategic change opens the possibility of India securing a second Olympic quota at the Baku World Championships, which offer quota berths for the Paris 2024 Olympics. Renowned Olympians Anjum Moudgil and Elavenil Valarivan didn’t make it to either squad, placing sixth and seventh respectively in the trials.

There have been some notable omissions from the provisional shotgun squad announced previously. These include veteran skeet Olympian Mairaj Ahmad Khan, former trap world champion Manavjit Singh Sandhu, and Bhowneesh Mendiratta, who secured India’s first Paris 2024 quota. However, Ganemat Sekhon, the first Indian skeet medalist at an ISSF World Cup, and Darsha Rathore have been included in the proposed shotgun teams. In selecting these teams, the NRAI took into account scores from four trials and performance data from several international competitions held in the first half of 2023.

Indian squad for the Asian Games 2023

Rifle and Pistol

Men’s 10m air rifle: Divyansh Singh Panwar, Aishwary Pratap Singh Tomar, Rudrankksh Patil
Women’s 10m air rifle: Ramita, Mehuli Ghosh, Ashi Chouksey
Men’s 50m rifle 3-positions: Aishwary Pratap Singh Tomar, Swapnil Kusale, Akhil Sheoran
Women’s 50m rifle 3-positions: Sift Kaur Samra, Ashi Chouksey, Manini Kaushik
Men’s 10m air pistol: Sarabjot Singh, Shiva Narwal, Arjun Singh Cheema
Women’s 10m air pistol: Divya TS, Esha Singh, Palak
Men’s 25m rapid fire pistol: Anish, Vijayveer Sidhu, Adarsh Singh
Women’s 25m sports pistol: Rhythm Sangwan, Manu Bhaker, Esha Singh
10m Air rifle mixed team: Divyansh Singh Panwar/Ramita, Aishwary Pratap Singh Tomar/Mehuli Ghosh
10m Air pistol mixed team: Sarabjot Singh/Divya TS, Shiva Narwal/Esha Singh

Trap and Skeet

Men’s trap: Prithviraj Toindaman, Kynan Chenai, Zoravar Singh Sandhu.
Women’s trap: Manisha Keer, Preeti Rajak, Rajeshwari Kumari
Men’s skeet: Anantjeet Singh Naruka, Angad Vir Singh Bajwa, Gurjoat Singh Khangura
Women’s skeet: Ganemat Sekhon, Parinaaz Dhaliwal, Darsha Rathore
Skeet mixed team: Anantjeet Singh Naruka/Ganemat Sekhon and Angad Vir Singh Bajwa/Parinaaz Dhaliwal

(Note: The teams for Skeet/ Trap have been mentioned above but may change in the future.)

Indian squad for the World Championships 2023

Rifle and Pistol

Men’s 10m air rifle: Divyansh Singh Panwar, Aishwary Pratap Singh Tomar, Hriday Hazarika
Women’s 10m air rifle: Ramita, Mehuli Ghosh, Tilottama Sen
Men’s 50m rifle 3-position: Aishwary Pratap Singh Tomar, Akhil Sheoran, Niraj Kumar
Women’s 50m rifle 3-position: Sift Kaur Samra, Ashi Chouksey, Manini Kaushik
Men’s 10m air pistol: Sarabjot Singh, Shiva Narwal, Arjun Singh Cheema
Women’s 10m air pistol: Divya TS, Esha Singh, Palak
Men’s 25m rapid fire pistol: Anish, Vijayveer Sidhu, Adarsh Singh
Women’s 25m sports pistol: Rhythm Sangwan, Manu Bhaker, Esha Singh
10m Air rifle mixed team: Divyansh Singh Panwar/Ramita; Aishwary Pratap Singh Tomar/Mehuli Ghosh
10m Air pistol mixed team: Sarabjot Singh/Divya TS; Shiva Narwal/Esha Singh

Trap and Skeet

Men’s trap: Prithviraj Toindaman, Kynan Chenai, Zoravar Singh Sandhu.
Women’s trap: Manisha Keer, Preeti Rajak, Rajeshwari Kumari
Men’s skeet: Aanatjeet Singh Naruka, Angad Vir Singh Bajwa, Gurjoat Singh Khangura
Men’s skeet: Ganemat Sekhon, Parinaaz Dhaliwal, Darsha Rathore
Trap mixed team: Prithviraj Toindaman/Manisha Keer and Kynan Chenai/Preeti Rajak
Skeet mixed team: Anantjeet Singh Naruka/Ganemat Sekhon and Angad Vir Singh Bajwa/Parinaaz Dhaliwal

(Note: The teams for Skeet/ Trap have been mentioned above but may change in the future.