Trap shooter Manavjit Singh Sandhu got the nod ahead of Sanjeev Rajput as the National Rifle Association of India (NRAI) announced its final shooting squad of 12 for the Rio Olympic Games in New Delhi on Saturday.
Elavenil Valarivan and Anish Bhanwala, two of India's finest young shooters, were on Friday named in a 34-member core group for the Tokyo Olympics. The National Rifle Association of India (NRAI) released the list of shooters who will be training separately for the quadrennial sporting extravaganza, scheduled to be held next summer after the COVID-19 pandemic pushed the Games back by a year.
However, with the Munich World Cup being cancelled, sources close to the NRAI said the sport's apex body in India is also under pressure to follow suit, considering the uncertainty arising out of the unprecedented health crisis.
The National Rifle Association of India (NRAI) has received a request from the chief coaches in rifle, pistol and shotgun disciplines to organise a one-month camp for the Olympic core group to ensure better preparation.
While NRAI has said it has been postponed, SAI says it has been 'principally approved'.
The Indian shooting federation has dropped Italy as a training venue for its shooters and also cancelled plans to set up a pre-Olympic base in South Korea following the coronavirus outbreak, its president said on Thursday. The coronavirus has infected more than 80,000 people and killed nearly 2,800, the majority in China, the source of the outbreak. The rapid spread of the virus in places like Italy, Iran and South Korea in recent days has also wreaked havoc on the sporting landscape.
Indian shooters bound for next year's Tokyo Olympics will resume their training from Wednesday following Sports Authority of India's decision to open the Karni Singh Shooting Range in New Delhi, which was closed since March due to the COVID-19 pandemic. SAI said the full-intensity training of Indian shooters will start in a phased manner.
A source said two among the three shooters are from the Indian contingent.
Manu's split with Rana was being attributed as the main reason for her forgettable performance in Tokyo
The new deadline for Tokyo 2020 Qualification in shooting is June 6, 2021, according to the ISSF.
India now have three gold, three silver and three bronze medals after four days of competition.
India's ace shooter Manu Bhaker on Tuesday received her first dose of COVID-19 vaccine at a government hospital in Jhajjar, Haryana, three months before the Tokyo Olympics where she will enter as one of India's brightest medal hopes.
NRAI termed the disqualification of trap shooter Manavjit Singh by organisers of the Asia Olympic Qualifiers in Kuwait as 'unjust and unfair'.
Gagan Narang has been dubbed the 'powerhouse' of Indian shooting by the Nation Rifle Association of India.
"The president has been quite frustrated, and in some cases even angry, about congressional inaction," he said.
Here's a collection of some of the best photos from around the world shot in the last 24 hours.
World No 1 Elavenil Valarivan was on Sunday included in a 15-member Indian shooting contingent for the Tokyo Olympics at the expense of quota winner Chinki Yadav, who had claimed a gold in the Delhi World Cup last month.
The Walther rifle imported by Mahendra Singh Dhoni, who retired from international cricket on Saturday, is the same model which another champion sportsperson, Abhinav Bindra, had used to win a historic individual gold medal at the Beijing Olympics.
Summary of sports events and persons who made news on Tuesday
Check out how India's athletes fared on Day 6, Thursday, August 1, 2024:
Three years ago, India returned from Tokyo with seven medals, and it is only natural that a double-digit performance is now desired in Paris.
'The law is neither able nor willing to function the way the legal machinery is envisaged.'
Sports Minister Kiren Rijiju, in a virtual meet with representatives of various National Sports Federations (NSFs) last week, said competitive sporting events can start without spectators from August.
Presumptive Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump said on Wednesday that he will be meeting with the NRA to discuss ways to block people on terrorism watch lists.
The legendary PT Usha will be officially elected as the first woman president of Indian Olympic Association (IOA) during the governing body's polls on Saturday, ushering in a new era in country's sports administration.
India's shooting ace Apurvi Chandela attained the World No 1 position in the women's 10m air rifle event while compatriot Anjum Moudgil rose to second.
Abhinav Bindra said he is not in favour of boycotting the 2022 Commonwealth Games
The Karni Singh Range in New Delhi will be divided into four risk zones to ensure that Olympic-bound shooters can safely resume training at a two-month long national camp which will be conducted from Thursday in a bio-bubble to ward off the COVID-19 threat.
Jitu Rai shot his way to a bronze medal in the men's 10-metre air pistol event at the ISSF Shooting World Cup.
India's pistol shooter Heena Sidhu pulled out of the Asian Airgun Shooting Championship in Iran due to the compulsory hijab rule for all women athletes.
Allowing the plea of 2004 Olympics silver medallist shooter Rajyavardhan Singh Rathore, the Delhi High Court today ordered the National Rifle Association of India (NRAI) to hold elections within eight weeks for four members from the category of life members in Wide Life Association.
Olympic medallist Vijay Kumar has missed out on a berth in his pet event - rapid fire pistol - for the upcoming Asian Games, but is still part of the 43-member squad, which will be spearheaded by shooting ace Abhinav Bindra.
Postponement of shooting tournaments, cancellation of trials and training camps hardly matter at this point to one of India's biggest young achievers in sport, Manu Bhaker, who is hoping to see the world win the battle against the coronavirus pandemic. The pandemic has cast serious doubts over the Tokyo Olympic Games but the 18-year-old, a medal prospect at the quadrennial extravaganza, is currently not thinking about things that are beyond her control.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi met with the Indian contingent which returned from the Paris Olympics with six medals.
India will be represented by a record 15 shooters at the Tokyo Olympic Games.
'The present generation, either due to historical amnesia or political propaganda, has been fed a narrative that paints India as an adversary rather than an ally.'
Bhaker beat a two-time World Cup Finals winner and the host country's Alejandra Zavala, with a 10.8 in the last shot of the 24 shot final, to come out on top with a score of 237.5.
Thirty-seven-year-old Indian-American physician Vivek Hallegere Murthy has been confirmed as the 19th surgeon general of America by the United States senate. He is youngest person and first person of Indian-origin to hold the post.
Teen sensations Bhaker, Chaudhary and Bhanwala grabbed podiums and headlines with their fearless approach, with Japsal, in their own words, playing a crucial role in their success.
Shooting's international federation (ISSF) has also confirmed complete support to India for hosting the proposed Commonwealth championships.
