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The Hindu
3 days ago
- Sport
- The Hindu
Strong team for Lonato World Cup
Lakshay Sheoran and Neeru Dhanda will spearhead the Indian trap team in the shotgun World Cup to be staged in Lonato, Italy from July 4 to 14. The skeet squad has Olympians Anantjeet Singh Naruka and Raiza Dhillon as the leading shooters in the team announced by the National Rifle Association of India (NRAI) on Friday (May 30, 2025). The team Trap: Lakshay Sheoran, Zoravar Singh Sandhu, Jaswinder Singh; Neeru Dhanda, Pragati Dubey, Preeti Rajak. Skeet: Anantjeet Singh Naruka, Mairaj Ahmad Khan, Bhavtegh Singh Gill; Raiza Dhillon, Ganemat Sekhon, Maheshwari Chauhan.
The Hindu
3 days ago
- Sport
- The Hindu
Olympians Raiza, Anantjeet return as 12-member shotgun team for Lonato World Cup announced
Paris Olympians and Skeet shooters Raiza Dhillon and Anantjeet Singh Naruka are back in the Indian team as the selection committee of the National Rifle Association of India (NRAI) proposed a 12-member shotgun squad for the year's final International Shooting Sport Federation (ISSF) World Cup scheduled between July 4-14 in Lonato Del Garda, Italy. Among those who competed in the third Nicosia shotgun World Cup earlier this month, where India returned with its first ever ISSF medal (bronze) in the newest Olympic Trap mixed team event, only the seasoned Mairaj Ahmad Khan in men's Skeet and Maheshwari Chauhan in women's Skeet have retained their spots. Making yet another comeback will be the indomitable veteran Zoravar Singh Sandhu in men's Trap, as will 2018 Jakarta Asiad silver medallist Lakshay Sheoran, alongside him. READ: Inspired by Abhinav Bindra, Shambhavi beats double Olympic medallist at Junior Worlds and wants to follow in her footsteps Ganemat Sekhon, India's most accomplished international woman Skeet Shooter with five senior ISSF medals, including two gold, will also be seen in action after missing out in Nicosia. The Trap mixed team responsibilities will rest on the shoulders of Neeru Dhanda and Lakshay Sheoran and Preeti Rajak and Zoravar respectively. The other members of the team are Pragati Dubey (women's Trap), Jaswinder Singh (men's Trap) and Bhavtegh Singh Gill (men's Skeet). The ISSF circuit has so far seen two Rifle/Pistol World Cup stages, three Shotgun World Cups and one combined Junior World Cup where Indian shooters have bagged a total of 27 medals including nine gold. They also topped the Junior World Cup standings and finished second and third in the first two senior combined world cups respectively. TEAM INDIA SQUAD Skeet Men: Anantjeet Singh Naruka, Mairaj Ahmed Khan, Bhavtegh Singh Gill Skeet Women: Raiza Dhillon, Ganemat Sekhon, Maheshwari Chauhan Trap Men: Lakshay Sheoran, Zoravar Singh Sandhu, Jaswinder Singh Trap Women: Neeru Dhanda, Pragati Dubey, Preeti Rajak
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Business Standard
4 days ago
- Sport
- Business Standard
Swapnil Kusale backs Indian league to expand shooting worldwide
Paris Olympics bronze medallist Swapnil Kusale reckons the upcoming Shooting League of India (SLI) will provide additional exposure to the sport not just in the country but all around the world. The National Rifle Association of India (NRAI) announced the window for the inaugural edition of the SLI earlier this month. The tournament will be held from November 20 to December 2, and is expected to feature some of the biggest shooters from India and around the world. Swapnil believes the tournament will help in further popularising the sport in India, especially after the contingent's success at 2024 Summer Games. "After winning medals in Paris, the interest and knowledge is increasing in shooting as a sport," Swapnil, who is set to travel to Munich next moth for the ISSF World Cup, said on Thursday. "The public in India have started understanding that there are different disciplines in shooting across pistol, rifle and shotgun. But still, the sport needs more exposure all over the world.. "We want school kids and grassroots level athletes to aspire to pick up the sport. Hence, we have to ensure that we perform well in this league so that the sport is seen in a different light," added, Swapnil who competes in the 50m Rifle 3 positions discipline. In a historic achievement, Swapnil became the first Indian shooter to secure a medal in the 50m rifle 3 position (3P) event at the Olympics last summer.. The inaugural SLI will feature mixed team events in pistol (10M, 25M), rifle (10M, 50M 3P), and shotgun (trap and skeet), as decided by the NRAI technical committee. Eight teams will be competing in the tournament, with four teams divided into two pools in the league stage. The selected players will be grouped into four tiers - elite champions, world elite, national champions, junior and youth championships - to strike a balance between experienced players and emerging talents. Swapnil also explained how an athlete's mindset is switched differently in a league-styled environment as compared to when they are competing in national or international events. "All the athletes are extremely excited because we have been competing in international and national tournaments for many years. But in a league, we have to carry a different mindset and we also gain a lot of exposure. "The competition level also increases with top talent participating," the 29-year-old said. "In competitions, while we are representing the national flag, we are participating in an individual capacity. In a league environment, we will be competing for a franchise and it will be a new challenge to play as per the team's direction and environment. "Having unity among the players in a team will also be a crucial aspect and also helps in further elevating our performances," Swapnil added.
New Indian Express
20-05-2025
- Sport
- New Indian Express
From shadow shooting to Junior World Cup silver: Adriyan's journey
CHENNAI: The day when Adriyan Karmakar shot silver in prone on his debut at the junior World Cup at Suhl (Germany), thousands of miles away one person was silently admiring his son's effort. It is not easy to be born into a shooting family where a father has left an illustrious trail of records and medals. It's never easy to emulate such a star. 'I am emotional because in 2010 I had won a silver at the same event (but senior) in Sydney,' Joydeep told this daily. Adriyan lost the gold to Sweden's Jesper Johansson by just 0.3 points. Griffin Lake (USA) won bronze with 624.6 points. For Adriyan, who started shooting at seven and competed at the senior nationals three years later (it was allowed by the National Rifle Association of India back then), however, the path he chose was not easy. Father Joydeep was not just an incredible shooter, he finished fourth at the London Olympcis, but is an able master (coach) with a keen eye for talent. Sitting in Bhopal, he was recollecting the day when he had a serious discussion with his son about pursuing the sport. 'It must be when he was around 16 or 17 and it was not a discussion,' he corrected the word and said it was a spat. 'I thought he was not being too serious about the sport and I asked him to quit. I told him shooting is not what you should do. There was a lot of tension and he said that his place was in the shooting range and he shall shoot. I told him if he wants to shoot he has to be serious and I will support him financially, morally and mentally.' Joydeep realised that brought in a kind of transformation in his son. Months later he went on to win at Khelo India Games and worked very hard to improve his game. 'He was mentally in the sport,' he said. Still, Joydeep was not expecting this kind of results from 20-year-old Adriyan. 'I was hoping for a score around 620-624 but a 626.7 off 60 shots should be considered great,' said the father. In fact, Adriyan started shadow shooting in Kolkata and continued with it for quite some time. 'He won a medal without shooting in a range because we did not have one in Kolkata,' he said.
Indian Express
18-05-2025
- Sport
- Indian Express
Shooting India League: NRAI plans for only mixed-team formats, making the sport more broadcast-friendly
The inaugural edition of Shooting India League will feature only mixed-team format across disciplines and not individual events in a bid to make the event more audience-friendly, the National Rifle Association of India (NRAI) have said. NRAI is set to launch the league between 20th November 2025 and 2nd December 2025. The franchise-based league will have eight teams divided into two pools of four teams in the league stage, which will take place between 21st November and 26th November, with the top two teams from each group advancing to the knockout stages. 'The idea is to make the sport of shooting more audience-friendly and broadcast-friendly. Currently, shooting is not broadcast-friendly. We plan to work out a way to capture more TV viewership,' Kalikesh Singh Deo, NRAI President, told The Indian Express. 'We will be working together with all the stakeholders, including broadcasters and franchise owners, to make the league attractive without losing the core visibility of the sport,' he added further. NRAI plans to keep the league in a mixed-team format across disciplines, eliminating the individual competitions. 'We have decided that all six formats will be in mixed team formats, and the shooters will directly compete in the final,' said Kalikesh. 'The reasoning behind the format is that it will take less time, reducing the pressure on the shooter, and it will also be easy and exciting for the audience. Apart from the shooters and the audience, the format will make it interesting on how teams are picked,' Kalikesh added. The league will feature mixed team events in Pistol (10M, 25M), Rifle (10M, 50M 3P), and Shotgun (Trap & Skeet), as per guidelines of the technical committee. The league has garnered significant interest from the global shooting community, with more than 35 international shooters registering for the event. 'When I was in Peru for the World Cup, a lot of international shooters and managers came up to me wanting to know more about the league. Prize money is one of the incentives for them to come and play here. We will have some notable names featuring in the league,' Kalikesh said. While there is no clarity on what the prize money is likely to be, Kalikesh said that it will be announced in due course. The players will be grouped into four tiers — Elite Champions, World Elite, National Champions, and Junior & Youth Championships — to balance experienced veterans and emerging talents. Franchise-based sporting leagues for individual sports have failed to make their mark on the Indian market apart from cricket and to some extent kabaddi, so far. So NRAI's challenge will be to succeed with the idea of projecting shooting as a team sport to the audience. When asked if there is a market for shooting as a team sport, Kalikesh said, 'We believe so, and it is important for any sport to keep trying out new things to stay successful in the long term. The thought of men and women shooting next to each other is something that makes the idea exciting. Another thing that makes it more exciting is finals are happening directly.'
