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.
Indian shooters, led by the mercurial Gagan Narang, experienced more highs than lows in a year that saw them clinch a record 30 medals in the Commonwealth Games in Delhi. A measly haul of eight medals in the Asian Games in Guangzhou following the high at home was the only blip in an otherwise satisfactory year.
Indian shooters flopped on a windy day at the Aoti Shooting range with the country's first woman world champion Tejaswini Sawant and Gagan Narang ending up way off target in their respective events at the 2010 Asian Games in Guangzhou, on Monday.
Led by Olympic champion Abhinav Bindra and Commonwealth Games hero Gagan Narang, Indian shooters would look to carry forward their stupendous CWG form into the Asian Games as the competition begin in Guangzhou on Saturday.
The Indian contingent for the Asian Games, commencing in Guangzhou on Friday, is getting into the groove and the country's tri-colour would be raised on Thursday afternoon at the athletes village.
Ace shooter Gagan Narang, who won four gold medals at last month's Commonwealth Games, will be India's flag-bearer at the opening ceremony of the 16th Asian Games in Guangzhou, China on November 12, Indian Olympic Association president Suresh Kalmadi said in New Delhi on Tuesday.
Gagan Narang's purple patch in the Commonwealth Games continued as the Indian marksman combined with Imran Hasan Khan to clinch gold in pairs 50-metre rifle 3 positions event, while Vijay Kumar added to the tally, bagging the yellow metal in men's singles 25-metre rapid fire pistol category in New Delhi.
Indian athletes' schedule on Friday, August 15, the seventh day, at the Beijing Olympics.
India's shooters continued their good showing to strike three more gold medals at the Dr Karni Singh shooting range in the 2010 Commonwealth Games in Delhi, on Wednesday.
The special exemption from trials given to Olympic champion Abhinav Bindra should be extended to other top shooters as well, Commonwealth Games gold medalist Samresh Jung has demanded.
Commonwealth Games bronze winner Sanjeev Rajput booked a berth in the London Olympics on Thursday after winning the gold medal at the 50m Rifle 3 Positions men's final at the shooting World Cup in Changwon, Korea.
Olympic gold medallist Abhinav Bindra will spearhead the Indian shooting challenge in both the Commonwealth and Asian Games along with other top marksmen such as Gagan Narang and Manavjit Singh Sandhu.
Ace shooter and Olympic gold medallist Abhinav Bindra took a sabbatical, while Gagan Narang's twin accolades at the ISSF World Cup and a remarkable performance by the Indians in the Asian Clay Shooting Championship were highlights of an eventful year.
The deadline to file nomination papers for the IOA elections ends on Sunday. According to IOA elections returning officer Umesh Sinha no nomination has been filed for any post so far since the process began on Friday.
Gagan Narang launches India's first shooting academy in Pune.
India's schedule on Day 9 of the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro, on Sunday.
Olympic bronze medallist Gagan Narang on what made him start the Gagan Narang Sports Promotion Foundation way back in 2011 when he himself in the midst of his own shooting career.
Swirling wind conditions on an overcast day upset India's hopes for a medal in the men's 50m rifle prone event in the Asian Games as the country's shooting trio, including Gagan Narang, failed to advance to the finals at the Aoti shooting range in Guangzhou on Sunday.
The golden run of India's prize shooter Gagan Narang ended at the Commonwealth Games on Tuesday when his sick partner struggled after refusing to take medication for fear of failing a doping test.
Indian shooters continued to dominate proceedings at the Karni Singh Range with Gagan Narang winning his fourth gold medal, after Vijay Kumar and Harpreet Singh gave the hosts a bright start by bagging the honour in the centerfire event at the Commonwealth Games in New Delhi on Saturday.
Country's ace shooter Gagan Narang, who struck a pot of gold at the Commonwealth Games, said he has stopped thinking about the prestigious Khel Ratna award, a honour that missed him thrice.
In the last few years, ace shooter Gagan Naran has achieved glory at nearly all major shooting events, but failure at the 2008 Olympics continues to haunt him. 'Yes, it does haunt me sometimes,' Narang admitted, after winning the 10 metres air rifle event with a personal best of 703.6, at the Commonwealth Games on Tuesday.
Images from Day 2 of the 2010 Delhi Commonwealth Games.
India's shooters kicked off their much-awaited campaign in the 19th Commonwealth games in grand fashion, winning two gold and two silver medals, at the Dr Karni Singh Shooting Range in Delhi on Tuesday.
Beijing Olympic Games gold medallist Abhinav Bindra and world record holder Gagan Narang will be the cynosure of all eyes as the famed Indian shooting squad kicks off its campaign in the 19th Commonwealth Games in New Delhi on Tuesday.
Abhinav Bindra narrowly missed a medal in the men's 10m Air Rifle event at the Rio Olympics, losing a nail-biting shoot-off against Ukrainian marksman S Kulish after the two were tied third at 163.8 in the race to reach the medal round.
With the much-awaited Olympic Games getting underway next week, the Indian contingent members have begun trickling into the Olympic Village in Rio de Janeiro.
Ace marksman Gagan Narang added the 50m rifle prone position gold to the one he won earlier in the 10m event, while Olympic quota earner Annu Raj Singh grabbed the air pistol crown in the Kumar Surendra Singh Memorial Shooting Championships.
Samaresh Jung shot down two more gold medals while Gagan Narang and Joydeep Karmakar combined to shatter a meet record as the Indians continued to rule the roost in the Commonwealth Championships in New Delhi on Friday
Sania Mirza opens her singles campaign against Czech Iveta Benesova at the Olympics Games on Monday.
Star cricketer Rohit Sharma has wished luck to the Indian sports contingent, which will take part in the upcoming Rio Olympic Games from August 5-21, by presenting an autographed bat to ace marksman Gagan Narang.
Saina Nehwal's preparation for the 2012 London Games received a shot in the arm on Saturday with the ace shuttler signing a contract with Olympic Gold Quest (OGQ).
Women's cricketer Anju Jain is among the awardees, while none of her popular male counterparts were nominated.
'I would like to dedicate this win to my parents and thank Gagan Sir and my coaches at GFG who have been working continuously behind me to make a shooter capable of winning titles at the world stage'
Swine flu scare in Pune on Monday forced the National Rifle Association of India (NRAI) to wind up its month-long training camp which was scheduled to get over on August 25. India's top shooters including Gagan Narang and Anjali Bhagwat were among the 100 participants in the camp at the Balewadi Sports Complex in Pune to prepare for next year's Commonwealth Games.
Rio Olympics bound Chain Singh emerged as the star marksman of the 12th South Asian Games as he picked up his third individual gold of the competition by winning the men's 50m rifles 3 positions as India yet again reigned supreme at the range, in Guwahati, on Sunday.
Ace Indian shooter Gagan Narang won a bronze in 10 meter air rifle event at the World Cup in Beijing.
It was another golden day for India's shooters at the Commonwealth Games on Tuesday as Samaresh Jung claimed a fourth gold medal.
Ace Indian shooter Gagan Narang shrugged off his Beijing Olympics' disappointment and set a new world record en route to winning the gold in the 10m air rifle event in the World Cup finals in Bangkok on Wednesday. Narang scored 703.5 -- a perfect 600 in the qualifying and 103.5 in the final -- to break Austria's Farnik Thomas's record, set in the 2006 World Cup final in Granada, Spain.
The CISF sharpshooter won the 50m women's rifle event at the National Shooting Championship. Bhagwat finished third.
