Online shooting championship's second edition to get underway on April 25

The first online international shooting championship took place last Wednesday and it proved to be a success.It was organised by former India shooter Shimon Sharif. With the idea getting a positive response Sharif has decided to arrange for the second edition of the online shooting which starts on April 25 reports Sportstar.

"In fact, we are planning to host it every week now till the lockdown is there," the Delhi-based marksman has told the sports magazine.

The first edition had the experienced Amanpreet Singh(576) take the top spot in 10m air pistol, followed by Ashish Dabas (575) and Manu Bhaker (572) in the second and third place respectively. The only Indian who finished in the top three of the 10m air rifle category was Meghana Sajjanar with a score of 630.5.

"Staging the qualification was a challenge. Now, since it got a thumbs up from the shooting fraternity we will be having the finals on (April) 25th," said Sharif, who runs the website indianshooting.com.

The first edition of the event was streamed live via Facebook and it fetched more than 10,000 views.

" ...the format will be much more viewer-friendly and engaging because we will have the elimination round. It will be exciting to see people moving up and down the ladder, complete with commentary," said Sharif.

To encourage participation Sharif has decided to do away with entry fees and the first edition saw 50 shooters take from seven countries take part in the event.

Big names from the world of shooting including Hungary's Veronika Major and veteran Austrian shooter Martin Strempfl and Frenchman Etienne Germond featured in the inaugural edition.

"A lot of shooters were sceptical initially and were not sure about how things would go on and how transparent would it all be. After the positive response, I am sure, there will be many new names added to the list of participants," said Sharif, who started shooting professionally in 1995.

Sharif is aiming to make the event more fulfilled and extra competitive this time around.

"This time we will have an online press conference too. There is hardly any difference because shooting is not a contact sport. At the range, you do not get coached after each shot and you do not talk to anyone. At home, it is all the same." Sharif explained.

The biggest selling point of the event was the presence of Peter Sidi and Joydeep Karmakar as commentators. Heena Sidhu, the 2018 Asian Games in 10m air pistol bronze medalist was also present for the event.

With world being forced to stay indoors due to coronavirus pandemic there has been a big surge in the esports market. Also the non-contact sports like chess and shooting are innovating and being played online .

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