NRAI to fund 14 non-Olympic event shooters for ISSF Junior Shooting World Cup

The National Rifle Association of India (NRAI) has decided to fund 14 non-Olympic event shooters for the upcoming ISSF Junior World Cup in Suhl, Germany.

India is set to field a 51-strong contingent in the premier event of the international junior shooting calendar, which is set to take place in the German city from May 9-20.

"51 shooters were selected by the NRAI based on the top three rankings. Out of them, 37 for Olympic events are being sponsored by the Sports Authority of India and 14 for non-Olympic events will be sponsored by NRAI," NRAI secretary-general K Sultan Singh said in a statement.

"We strongly believe that such quality exposure at a young age will only help them parallelly develop skills for Olympic events in the future as well. Several such examples have been witnessed in the past. Also, you never quite know which event will become an Olympic event going forward."

The Indian squad, which includes big names like Saurabh Chaudhary and Manu Bhaker, will also be accompanied by a 15-member support contingent of coaches, physios and trainers.