Young Indian shooters Himanshu Dhillon and Rudrankksh Patil secured individual silver and bronze medals respectively in the men's 10m air rifle event at the Asian Games. They also combined with Parth Mane to win a team silver, contributing significantly to India's medal tally in shooting.
All of the 15 shooters are capable of winning medals, but few are seen as sure shot to secure podium finishes
Uttar Pradesh Director General of Police Rajeev Krishna revealed that the murder of Haryanvi singer Ankit Balyan was a pre-planned conspiracy involving a network linked to the Gogi gang, with attackers tracking his movements and procuring weapons in advance.
India's Ganemat Sekhon is in contention for a finals berth at the ISSF World Cup Shotgun, while Mairaj Ahmad Khan had a disappointing outing.
Suchika Tariyal secured India's first-ever medal in mixed martial arts at the Asian Games, winning a bronze in the women's traditional 60kg event. Despite a fiercely contested bout that ended in a draw, she lost the semifinal to Singapore's Hui Hoon Teo due to a lesser weight rule. Tariyal expressed disappointment with the decision but was proud of her historic achievement for the country.
Jaspal Rana, the acclaimed Indian shooter and high-performance coach, has passed away at 49. Known for mentoring Olympic medallists like Manu Bhaker and other young talents, Rana's contributions significantly shaped Indian shooting. He was a Dronacharya Award recipient.
Seventeen Indian sportspersons, including World Cup winning chess player Divya Deshmukh, decathlete Tejaswin Shankar, and shuttler Gayatri Gopichand, have been named for the prestigious Arjuna Award for 2025.
A 15-member squad of Indian shooters, who have qualified for the Tokyo Olympics, departed for Zagreb, Croatia, for training ahead of the Games.
Japan hosted a vibrant opening ceremony for the Asian Games in Nagoya, showcasing its technological advancements and cultural heritage. The event, themed 'Harmonic Heart Beat', welcomed 11,000 athletes from 45 nations, despite prior logistical challenges.
A 12-member Indian shotgun squad is set to participate in the ISSF World Cup Shotgun stage in Almaty, Kazakhstan, with competitions beginning on Monday, May 4.
Vidarsa K Vinod, a 27-year-old rifle shooter from Kozhikode, has secured a spot in the Indian squad for the Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games. Her path from an NCC introduction to elite competition was marked by financial struggles, training with borrowed equipment, and overcoming setbacks like the COVID-19 pandemic. With crucial support from her family, husband, and the National Centre of Excellence, she now aims to become the World No. 1 in her sport.
Jaspal Rana, a renowned Indian shooting coach and former Asian Games gold medallist, has passed away at the age of 49. He died in a Delhi hospital after undergoing a medical procedure for an illness that occurred during a flight from the ISSF World Cup in Munich. Rana was serving as the high-performance coach for Indian pistol shooters.
The NRAI said in a statement that it has not sanctioned any such tournament in the country.
Shapath Bharadwaj leads the Indian contingent with a strong performance in the men's trap event at the ISSF World Cup for Shotgun, while Manisha Keer is the top Indian in the women's trap event.
India is set to field a strong contingent at the Asian Games 2026 in Aichi-Nagoya, Japan, from September 19 to October 4, with key athletes like PV Sindhu, Mirabai Chanu, and Lovlina Borgohain leading the charge to defend titles in cricket, kabaddi, and men's hockey.
Former Asian Games gold medallist Ronjan Sodhi believes India's ambitious target of 30-40 medals at the 2036 Olympics is a 'distant prospect', citing significant delays in talent identification, scouting, and critical infrastructure improvements.
Sports Minister Mansukh Mandaviya has urged Indian shooters to support the country's goal of becoming a top-10 global sporting power within a decade. The NRAI marked its 75th anniversary with a plan to introduce shooting to 7.5 lakh youth through grassroots outreach.
'This was due to some issue over time slots as athletes from all competing nations train at the same venue'
The death of former Asian Games champion and celebrated shooting coach Jaspal Rana at the age of 49 has triggered an outpouring of grief across India, with Prime Minister Narendra Modi, President Droupadi Murmu, Olympic gold medallist Abhinav Bindra and several leading figures from the sporting world paying tribute to one of the country's most influential shooters and mentors.
Indian pistol and rifle shooters are determined to continue their winning streak at the ISSF World Cup in Granada, Spain, despite missing key players.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi, on Tuesday, congratulated Indian shooters Saurabh Chaudhary, Abhishek Verma and Sanjeev Rajput for winning medals in the Asian Games in Jakarta.
The Indian shooters will begin training at the venue from July 19, having got their rooms allotted at the games village after arriving in Tokyo in the wee hours of Saturday.
Indian shooters Palak and Mukesh Nelavalli won a gold medal and broke the world record in the 10m air pistol mixed team competition at the ISSF World Cup in Granada, Spain.
Ace Indian shooter Manu Bhaker expressed profound grief over the death of her mentor and high-performance coach, Jaspal Rana, who passed away at 49 due to cardiac complications.
Anjali Bhagwat was way off the mark, finishing a disappointing 20th in the women's 50 metres rifle prone competition on Monday.
India's national shooting federation on Wednesday said it will not allow its shooters to travel abroad for training due to the novel coronavirus threat and won't hesitate in pulling out of a Tokyo Olympics Test event in April if it becomes a health risk. Indian shooters are scheduled to travel to Tokyo to participate in the Olympic Test event slated to take place from April 16 to 26 in the Japanese capital, which will host the main event in July-August this year.
The Indian shooters failed miserably when it mattered the most
Indian shooters are set to compete in the Rifle/Pistol World Cup in Granada, Spain, facing a strong international field in both 10m air rifle and air pistol events. The competition serves as a crucial assessment opportunity ahead of the Asian Games and the World Championships, where Olympic quotas will be awarded.
Bhowneesh Mendiratta leads a 12-member Indian squad at the ISSF Shotgun World Cup in Tangier, Morocco, marking the start of the qualification cycle for the Los Angeles 2028 Olympics.
Neeru Dhanda finished seventh in the women's trap final at the ISSF Shotgun World Cup, continuing India's medal drought in the competition. Despite a strong comeback in qualification, she was eliminated early in the final. Australia's Penny Smith won gold, setting a world record.
The Sports Ministry is set to commence the nomination process for the National Sports Awards next month, following a delayed announcement of the 2025 awards. The delay was due to a re-evaluation process aimed at preserving the integrity of the honours, which resulted in no Khel Ratna awardee for 2025 and fewer Arjuna awardees than recommended. The article also details the criteria for these prestigious awards and highlights some of the notable Arjuna awardees for 2025.
Esha Singh won gold in the women's 25m pistol final at the ISSF World Cup in Munich, setting a new world record score of 43. This is India's first medal at the Munich World Cup.
Rewari's Kamaljeet, a 22-year-old pistol shooter, is set to represent India at the 20th Asian Games in Aichi-Nagoya, Japan, after an injury ended his athletics dream and he transitioned to shooting in 2019, overcoming financial struggles with strong family and institutional support.
But new faces, such as world champion 10m air rifle shooter Rudrankksh Patil, Esha Singh (10m air pistol), Sift Kaur Samra and Ashi Chouksey (50m rifle 3-positions) are some of the brightest prospects in the team with a potential to aim for gold, notwithstanding the extremely tough challenge the Chinese will pose in the coming fortnight.
A High Performance national coach for rifle shooters, Manoj Kumar, is under inquiry by the Sports Authority of India (SAI) for allegedly conducting private coaching at a government facility and discriminating against non-attendees. Complaints from shooters and guardians detail pressure to name him as their official coach and unequal distribution of ammunition. The National Rifles Association of India (NRAI) secretary general has refuted the charges.
Asian Championships gold medallist Neeru Dhanda has secured her first individual ISSF World Cup title in the women's trap event in Lonato, Italy.
Glasgow 2026 will look very different for India. Several of the country's biggest medal-winning sports-including wrestling, badminton, hockey and table tennis-have been dropped from the Commonwealth Games, leaving India with far fewer chances to add to its medal tally.
Amandeep Singh-Bola, born in New Zealand to Indian and Kiwi parents, helped tackle suspect Sajid Akram.
Abhinav Bindra, India's first individual Olympic gold medallist, reflected on the 18th anniversary of his historic win at the Beijing Olympics, stating, 'Life since has taught me that the spaces between the peaks matter just as much.'
Indian shooters continued to call the shots at the Commonwealth Games as they clinched one gold medal, a silver and bronze on Sunday. Harpreet Singh won the yellow metal in 25-metre centrefire pistol singles at the Karni Singh Range. In a one-two finish for the hosts, Harpreet and Vijay Kumar clinched the gold and silver medals respectively in the 25-metre range, thus continuing their medal-winning spree in the Games.
