India’s leading marksmen and women archers, fresh from a highly successful year filled with landmark achievements and a rich medal haul, are set to bring the curtains down on the season in style at the prestigious ISSF World Cup Final, which gets under way here on Thursday.
The season-ending showpiece will feature 14 of India’s finest shooters, including Paris Olympics double bronze-medallist Manu Bhaker, newly-crowned world champion Samrat Rana, and multiple World Cup medallist Suruchi Singh, all competing for top honours in an exclusive field that is typically limited to the world’s top 12 ranked shooters in each individual Olympic event.
It has been a memorable year for Indian shooting on the global stage. At the recently concluded World Shooting Championships — with pistol and rifle events held in Cairo and shotgun disciplines in Athens — India delivered a record-breaking performance, clinching 14 medals, including three golds, across both Olympic and non-Olympic categories.
The Indian contingent will now aim to carry that momentum into the World Cup Final, an event that not only offers winners ultimate bragging rights but also carries substantial prize money: €5,000 for gold, €4,000 for silver, and €2,000 for bronze in every category.
In the women’s pistol events, two of India’s brightest stars, Manu Bhaker and Esha Singh, will be among the leading favourites for podium finishes in both the 10m air pistol and 25m sports pistol after securing their places in the top-12 through consistent performances across the World Cup series and the World Championship.
The men’s 10m air pistol promises to be an exciting affair with newly-crowned world champion Samrat Rana from Karnal and Baghpat’s Varun Tomar, who claimed bronze in Cairo, both in the fray. The duo had made history at the World Championship by becoming the first Indians to occupy two podium spots in the same individual Olympic event.
In the men’s 10m air rifle, former world champion Rudrankksh Patil and Arjun Babuta — who narrowly missed a medal with a fourth-place finish at the Paris Olympics — will face a formidable field that includes China’s unstoppable Sheng Lihao, the reigning Olympic and Asian Games champion, as well as Hungary’s Istvan Peni.
Anish Bhanwala, who battled through two tense shoot-offs to win silver at the World Championship — the biggest medal of his career so far — will be brimming with confidence in the 25m rapid-fire pistol event.
On the women’s rifle side, 10m air rifle specialist Elavenil Valarivan will look to build on her recent bronze-medal success in Cairo, while veteran trap shooter Zoravar Singh Sandhu, who became only the third Indian trap shooter after Karni Singh and world champion Manavjit Singh Sandhu to win a World Championship medal (bronze in Athens), will be a serious medal contender. Sandhu has further sharpened his skills under the guidance of legendary British marksman Peter Wilson, India’s current foreign coach.
Also Read: India counting on Virat, Rohit to seal ODI series
With such a formidable line-up, India will be determined to surpass their performance from the previous World Cup Final held in New Delhi, where they returned with two silver and two bronze medals.
Indian participants at the ISSF World Cup Final:
Men
- 10m air pistol: Samrat Rana, Varun Tomar
- 10m air rifle: Rudrankksh Patil, Arjun Babuta
- 25m rapid-fire pistol: Anish Bhanwala, Vijayveer Sidhu
- 50m rifle 3 positions: Aishwary Pratap Singh Tomar
- Trap: Zoravar Sandhu
Women
- 10m air pistol: Suruchi Singh, Manu Bhaker, Esha Singh
- 10m air rifle: Elavenil Valarivan
- 25m pistol: Manu Bhaker, Simranpreet Kaur, Esha Singh
- 50m rifle 3 positions: Sift Kaur Samra
Also Read: AIFF for 'flexible' approach when Mandaviya meets football reps
Follow us
