Bhopal to host ISSF World Cup in 2023 for first time

Moving the focus away from the capital, Madhya Pradesh's Bhopal has been chosen as the host city for the ISSF World Cup (Rifle/Pistol) scheduled to be held in March 2023, for the first time.

Madhya Pradesh has come up as a prime place for shooting with the growth of academies in the state with world-class facilities.

The MP Shooting Academy, which has been around for a decade now, has become a hub for shooters from all over the country to come and train as well.

In the last few years, a lot of National Championships and several events have taken place at the MP Academy but an event on the scale of an ISSF World Cup will be a first for the state and the Academy - an opportunity that is incredibly exciting according to the Sports Minister of Madhya Pradesh, Yashodhara Raje Scindia.

In an interaction with TOI, Scindia mentioned, "Our MP Shooting Academy was launched almost a decade ago and within this span of time, it has made its strong presence felt at the national level. I have no words to define the feeling I have at the moment after getting the news that Bhopal will host the world cup," he said.

A lot of new facilities and world-class ranges have been developed keeping the ISSF World Cup in mind as well.

"It is unbelievable that such world-class shooting ranges have been developed by a state. For improvement in a game, high-level infrastructure is required and shooting is a sport that needs to keep pace with technological advancements," Olympic gold medallist shooter Abhinav Bindra had also commented previously about the MP Academy, geared up to play host.