Shooting
Saurabh Chaudhary returns as NRAI names Indian squad for first two World Cups
Manu Bhaker is part of three different events, while fellow Olympic medalists Swapnil and Sarabjot failed to make the cut.
Indian star shooters Saurabh Chaudhary and Manu Bhaker have been selected for the World Cups in South America. (Photo credit: ISSF)
The National Rifle Association of India (NRAI) announced a 35-member Indian shooting squad for the upcoming World Cups in Argentina and Peru.
Saurabh Chaudhary, a multiple-time World Cup medal winner, returned to the squad by topping the national ranking after selection trials 1 and 2 at the Karni Singh Shooting Range in New Delhi.
However, the Olympic medallists Sarabjot Singh and Swapnil Kusale couldn't make it to the team after their sub-par performances at the National Trials earlier this month.
Manu Bhaker, the double Olympic Medalist, will represent India in three events.
The Indian shooters will look for a positive start to the year as they begin their international calendar at these back-to-back World Cups in South America in April 2025.
Indian Squad
The rising shooter Surcuhi has earned her place in the team after dominating performance on the national circuit in the last couple of months. She will be partnering with Manu and Sainyam in women's air pistol.
Manu will also compete in the 25m pistol event and the air pistol mixed team event partnering with Ravinder Singh. The second pair in the air pistol mixed team category will be made of Suruchi and Saurabh.
In the rifle shooting, Niraj Kumar returned to the side after becoming the National Games champion earlier this month. Aishwary Tomar and Chain Singh will be the other competitors in the 50m rifle 3P event.
Here is the Indian team who will be competing at the coming World Cups:
Rifle Team: Rudrankksh Patil, Arjun Babuta, Hriday Hazarika, Aishwary Pratap, Niraj Kumar, Chain Singh, Sonam Maskar, Arya Borse, R. Narmada, Ashi Chouksey, Anjum Moudgil, Sift Samra
Pistol Team: Saurabh Chaudhary, Varun Tomar, Ravinder Singh, Anish, Vijayveer Sidhu, Gurpreet Singh, Esha Singh, Manu Bhaker, Suruchi, Sainyam, Simranpreet Kaur
Shotgun Team: Lakshay, Prithviraj Tondaiman, Zoravar Singh, Bhavtegh Gill, Anantjeet Singh Naruka, Gurjoat Singh, Neeru, Pragati Dubey, Bhavya Tripathi, Raiza Dhillon, Ganemot Sekhon, Darshna Rathore
