On day one of competitions in the Rifle/Pistol World Cup, the two air rifle shooters eased into the women's 10m finals with solid scores, making it their fifth ISSF final in less than two years, including the World Championship last year.
Top Indian shooter Sanjeev Rajput, on Sunday, found his rifle broken while flying back home after participating in the ISSF World Cup final in Poland.
Ace shooters Jitu Rai, Sanjeev Rajput and Mairaj Ahmad Khan will represent India at the season ending ISSF World Cup Finals to be held in the cities of Bologna and Rome in Italy next month. The rifle and pistol events will be held in Bologna from October 4-10 and the shotgun event is scheduled to be held in Rome from October 10-16.
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.
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.
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.
Indian athletes' schedule on Friday, August 15, the seventh day, at the Beijing Olympics.
India's Gagan Narang and Chain Singh will be vying for a spot in the finals of the men's 50m Rifle Prone event after coming through unscathed in the elimination rounds on day six of the ISSF World Cup in Rio de Janeiro.
Aishwary Pratap Singh Tomar bagged India's 13th Olympic quota in shooting with a bronze medal in men's 50m rifle 3 positions at the 14th Asian Championship.
On the men's side, the fields have already been divided into two ATP 250 tournaments.
Ace Indian shooter Gagan Narang won a bronze in 10 meter air rifle event at the World Cup in Beijing.
Gagan Narang's nightmarish Olympic campaign ended with another failure as he, along with debutante Sanjeev Rajput, failed to qualify for the finals of the 50m Rifle 3 position event of the Shooting competition. Despite his personal best score of 1168, the Hyderabad based shooter finished 13th in the field of 49 shooters while his compatriot Sanjeev creditable 1162 and ended 26th. The event was won by Ukraine's Jury Sukhorukov who shot 1272.5 (1173, 99.5).
Gagan Narang continued to draw a blank at the Beijing Olympics and -- along with Sanjeev Rajput -- failed to qualify for the final of the shooting competition's 50m Rifle prone event on Friday.
Former India shooter Shimon Sharif has successfully organised the second edition of the virtual tournament last Saturday and he is optimistic of this becoming a regular affair at a time when the world is under lockdown due to the COVID-19 pandemic. In fact, he feels similar tournaments can be organised even when normalcy returns, athletes venture out and sporting events resume outdoor.
The Indian shooters failed miserably when it mattered the most
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.
Although Rajput put up his best effort so far by firing 1170 out of 1200 (Prone 395, Standing 384, Kneeling 391), he failed to make the finals but was awarded the quota place because top ten finishers had already qualified for Olympics.
While NRAI has said it has been postponed, SAI says it has been 'principally approved'.
Gagan Narang had to settle for a silver medal in the men's 50m rifle prone event at the Asian Shooting Championships in Kuwait on Monday.
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.
Jaspal Rana bettered the world record score to win the centrefire pistol gold on the opening day of the Australia Cup.
Octogenarian shooter Chandro Tomar, nicknamed 'Shooter Dadi', died on Friday after battling COVID-19.
Olympic gold medallist Abhinav Bindra made the cut, but London Games bronze winner Gagan Narang failed to qualify in the 10-metre air rifle event for the upcoming Commonwealth Games.
Sanjeev Rajput was the highest placed Indian at the 13th position in the ISSF World Cup.
With a rape case going on against him, he happens to be jobless, having being sacked as assistant coach from the Sports Authority of India last year.
An online shooting tournament, held in bedrooms and basements, brought some positivity and a smile on the face of a young national- level shooter undergoing treatment for cancer in a Kolkata hospital. From her hospital bed, the ailing markswoman joined the proceedings in the second international online shooting championship through Zoom App, and expressed her delight at being part of an initiative that also resulted in a virtual post-match press conference.
Summary of sports events and persons who made news on Tuesday
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.
Chinky Yadav upstaged the experienced Rahi Sarnobat and the fancied Manu Bhaker to win gold as India swept the women's 25m pistol event of the ISSF Shooting World Cup in New Delhi on Wednesday.
The national championship silver and junior world championship bronze-medallist, however, could not replicate her qualification form in the final, only managing a sixth-place finish with a score of 116.
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.
From the boxing ring to the shooting range to the athletics arena, it was India shining on the penultimate day of the 21st Commonwealth Games where the country claimed its biggest single-day haul of the ongoing edition, ensnaring eight gold medals across five disciplines.
Two-time Olympic champion Vincent Hancock of the USA won the men's skeet competition, the concluding event of the year's first International Shooting Sport Federation (ISSF) World Cup.
Will India finally reach the elusive double-digit mark? Raj Kishore Mishra, former joint secretary at the sports ministry, for one, is willing to stick his neck out on the possibility.
India now have three gold, three silver and three bronze medals after four days of competition.
India's schedule for Tuesday, the fourth day of competition, at the Asian Games in Incheon.
A summary of sports events and sports persons, who made news on Tuesday
Schedule of Indian athletes in the 20th Commonwealth Games on Monday (July 29).
Lakshaya and Kismat Chopra along with Manavaditya Singh Rathore on Thursday bagged the team bronze in the Men's Trap event as India ended their campaign at the International Shooting Sport Federation (ISSF) Junior World Cup with a total of 24 medals to grab the second place in the overall standings. India finished with a total of nine gold, five silver and 10 bronze medals as the year's second and final Junior World Cup concluded in Gabala, Azerbaijan.
India's Abhinav Bindra won a gold in men's 10m air rifle individual final during the Day Four of the 17th Asian Games in Incheon on Tuesday.
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