It was mixed day for Indian shooters at the International Shooting Sport Federation World Cup as Olympic medallists Abhinav Bindra and Gagan Narang failed to qualify for the final round of the men's 10m Air Rifle event, while Jitu Rai progressed to the qualification round in 50m Pistol on the opening day at Fort Benning, United States on Thursday.
Abhinav Bindra's quest for a second Olympics medal ended in disappointment, as he lost a tense shoot-off in the men's 10 metre Air Rifle event on the third day of competition at the Rio Games on Monday.
Swift intervention by Ministry of External Affairs Sushma Swaraj ensured shooting ace Abhinav Bindra was accompanied by his coach, whose passport got stolen in Germany while the duo were travelling to Rio de Janeiro for the ISSF World Cup, a test event for the upcoming Olympics.
India's Prakash Nanjappa has earned a quota place for the 2016 Rio Olympics after finishing eighth in the finals of 50-metre men's pistol event at the ISSF World Cup in Gabala, Azerbaijan.
Ace Indian shooter Jitu Rai clinched gold medal in the men's 50m Pistol event at the International Shooting Sport Federation (ISSF) World Cup being held, in Bangkok, on Friday.
All of the 15 shooters are capable of winning medals, but few are seen as sure shot to secure podium finishes
Check out India's schedule on Day 6 of the Commonwealth Games in Gold Coast, on Tuesday.
OGQ has launched a crowd funding campaign to assist training and preparation of their potential medal winning athletes -- Irfan KT (Race Walking), Vikas Gowda (Discus Throw), Ayonika Paul and Pooja Ghatkar (both Rifle Shooting).
Abhinav Bindra announced his retirement from the sport that had brought him world-wide attention and fame after he won the gold in the same event in Beijing in 2008, saying he's 'done' and will now convert his shooting range into a garden.
These athletes made India proud four years ago.
India now have three gold, three silver and three bronze medals after four days of competition.
India's teenage shooting sensations extended their dominance in the ongoing ISSF World Cup in New Delhi on Monday, winning the mixed team gold medals in both the 10m air pistol and 10m air rifle events to continue their stupendous run of form in the run-up to this year's Olympics.
A summary of sports events and persons who made news on on Thursday
Jitu Rai shot his way to a bronze medal in the men's 10-metre air pistol event at the ISSF Shooting World Cup.
The star-studded shooting squad was expectedly on target, while the track-and-field athletes continued their golden run as India held on firmly to the top spot by remaining way ahead of competition on the sixth day of the 12th South Asian Games in Guwahati
India won a bronze medal in the women's double trap team event in the 17th Asian Games in Incheon on Thursday. The Indian team of Shagun Chowdhary, Shreyasi Singh and Varsha Varman bagged the medal.
Indian pistol shooters, on Wednesday, pulled off a clean sweep in the 10m air pistol event at the Commonwealth Shooting Championship with Shahzar Rizvi, Omkar Singh and Jitu Rai winning gold, silver and bronze medals respectively.
Ace shooter Abhinav Bindra shot 208.9 to win the gold medal in the 10 meter air rifle event while Vijay Kumar had to be content with silver in the centre fire event on the concluding day of the 57th National Shooting championship, in New Delhi.
Batting maestro Sachin Tendulkar said that singing the national anthem in front of a packed Wankhede Stadium before the 2011 World Cup final is the 'proudest feeling' he has ever had in his life.
Heena Sidhu clinched the 10m air pistol gold medal to give India a perfect start at the Commonwealth Shooting Championships in Brisbane on Tuesday.
The National Rifle Association of India (NRAI) has come up with a proposal to set up a special committee, to be headed by Olympic champion Abhinav Bindra, to carry out a comprehensive review of the shooters' below-par performance at the Rio Games. Indian shooters proved to be an epic failure in a disastrous Rio Olympic Games as the 12-member team, with the exception of Bindra, failed miserably to live up to the sky-high expectations. This has left the country's shooting fraternity highly disappointed.
The NRAI has sent the names of champion pistol shooters Saurabh Chaudhary and Abhishek Verma for the prestigious Arjuna Award, according to federation sources.
Beijing Olympics gold medalist Abhinav Bindra, who is competing in his fifth Games, led the Indian contingent at the parade of nations during the Open Ceremony of the Rio Olympics on Friday night.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi, on Monday, met the Indian athletes who will represent the country at the forthcoming Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil and wished them luck.
India lifted its sagging morale as Sania Mirza and Rohan Bopanna cruised into the semi-finals while pugilist Vikas Krishan advanced to the quarters on a day the shooters, archers, shuttlers and track and field athletes suffered reverses at the Rio Olympics.
Gagan Narang, Jitu Rai and young Mehuli Ghosh failed to make the Indian shooting squad for the upcoming Asian Games, even as a few unheralded faces were picked for the quadrennial extravaganza, starting in Indonesia, from August 18.
Sometimes it is not meant to be, says legendary cricketer Sachin Tendulkar after the Indian team faced defeat by nine runs to England in the ICC Women's World Cup.
Olympic Association is yet to get an official confirmation about shooting being scrapped from the programme of 2022 Commonwealth Games but said it will ask the organisers to reconsider its decision.
A summary of sports events and persons who made news on Sunday
Shooter Ronjan Sodhi picked for Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna award by the selection committee.
Young Indian shooter Lakshay claimed the silver medal in the men's trap event of the Asian Games, in Palembang, on Monday.
Seventeen shooters, prominent among who is Beijing Olympics gold medallist Abhinav Bindra, are among 45 athletes selected by the government for financial assistance under the Target Olympic Podium (TOP) scheme.
Woman shooter Heena Sidhu created history by becoming the first pistol exponent from India to win a gold medal at the ISSF World Cup finals in Munich, Germany.
Heena Sidhu gave India its third gold medal in shooting at the ongoing Commonwealth Games, leaving a host of seasoned campaigners in the shade in the women's 25 metres pistol event on Tuesday.
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.
Long-distance runner Kavita Raut's Olympic qualification was the icing on the cake on yet another impressive day for India at the 12th South Asian Games, in Guwahati, on Friday. Firmly entrenched atop the overall standings, India increased their medal tally to 248 -- including 146 gold, 79 silver and 23 bronze.
Pooja Ghatkar overcame technical issues to clinch the women's 10m air rifle bronze medal as hosts India opened their account on a positive note in the International Shooting Sport Federation (ISSF) World Cup in New Delhi.
The 20-year-old's top prize, however, did not translate into an Olympic quota for India as Apurvi Chandela and Anjum Moudgil have already secured the maximum two berths available per country in last year's World Championships.
The National Rifle Association of India on Sunday welcomed the appointment of Rajyavardhan Singh Rathore as sports minister, saying the Olympics silver medallist would "add immense value to the development and growth of sports".
Unsparing on the under-performing shooters but equally scathing on coaches and the national federation, the Abhinav Bindra-led National Rifle Association of India (NRAI) review committee hardly minced words as it chastised the Rio Olympics flop show while recommending a systematic overhaul.