Manu Bhaker, a double Olympic medallist, decided to take a three-month break after her performances at the Paris Games.
In the season-ending ISSF World Cup Final, Rhythm Sangwan will be the only shooter from India to compete in two events. This is because double Olympic medallist Manu Bhaker chose to take a three-month break after her performances in the Paris Games. A 23-person Indian squad has been announced by the National Rifle Association of India (NRAI) for the competition, which will take place at the Dr. Karni Singh Shooting Range from October 13 to October 18 in the rifle, pistol, and shotgun categories.The roster includes nine members from the Paris Olympics team, who won three bronze medals.
A total of 11 Indian Olympians will compete for the title of greatest shooter of the year against the world’s best in 12 individual Olympic sports.
The 22-year-old Bhaker made history for India in Paris, winning bronze medals in the women’s 10m air pistol and 10m air pistol mixed team events (teaming up with Sarabjot Singh in the latter), and Indian shooters competing in the prestigious tournament in the national capital will look to maintain the momentum at the familiar range.
“We anticipate a great performance for the ISSF year-ender, since we have a solid roster of experienced athletes. After the success in Paris, expectations for the sport have skyrocketed,” stated Sultan Singh, the NRAI secretary general.
The ISSF directly selected four shooters: Divyansh Singh Panwar (men’s 10m air rifle), Sonam Uttam Maskar (women’s 10m air rifle), Rhythm (women’s 10m air pistol & 25m pistol), and Ganemat Sekhon (women’s skeet). The remaining members were chosen based on their results from the Olympic trials.
Surbhi Rao will compete alongside 20-year-old Rhythm in the women’s 10m air pistol event.The team has welcomed back seasoned shooters and Olympians Mairaj Ahmed Khan (men’s skeet) and Chain Singh (men’s 50m rifle 3 positions).
Anish and Vijayveer Sidhu (men’s 25m rapid-fire pistol), Shreyasi Singh and Rajeshwari Kumari (women’s trap), Maheshwari Chauhan (women’s skeet), and Anant Jeet Singh Naruka (men’s skeet) are the other Olympians from Paris in addition to Rhythm.
