Kolkata: A trio of ‘young guns’ — Satyendra Singh, Ravi Kumar and Deepak Kumar — will be in charge of holding the Indian flag high in this season’s first ISSF World Cup, which is beginning tomorrow. Till date, it had been the very successful duo of Abhinav Bindra and Gagan Narang who represented India in this championship. But this year, the scenario is quite different.
The Olympic Champion (Abhinav Bindra) who earned India’s reputation in the game of shooting in the 2008 Summer Olympics has dropped his gun after almost re making history in the Rio games last year. Although Gagan Narang, who wowed everyone with a bronze medal in the 2012 London Olympics continues his quest for making milestones in this upcoming tournament.
The more experienced Narang despite banking on a better experience is in no better position than the fresh triumvirate namely, Satyendra Singh, Ravi Kumar and Deepak Kumar. Narang could only book a place in the rifle prone event and not in air-rifle or rifle 3 position. This brings him almost in the same line as that of Satyendra, Ravi and Deepak.
Ravi Kumar, Satyendra Singh and Deepak Kumar performed extremely well in the trials which earned them their berth in this year’s World Cup. Though they have some good performances in their kitty, much more is required from them. When they get down on the field tomorrow, they will be up against a formidable and strong set of opponents in the men’s 10m air rifle event.
Before the men’s event, the women’s 10m air rifle event will commence and Pooja Ghatkar, Meghana Sajjanar and Vinita Bharadwaj will be representing our nation in it. Olympian shooter Apurvi Chandela will join them in the Minimum Qualification Score (MQS). Also, there will be the trap women’s event in which shooters Rajeshwari Kumari, Seema Tomar and Manisha Kheer will represent India. Joining them would be experienced shooters Shagun Chowdhary and Shreyashi Singh in the MQS.
The ISSF World Cup which always has aimed to bring out the best of shooters and provide them with quality exposure will be hosted in New Delhi this year. This shall be a huge advantage for these Indian players who are starting their journeys in the game of shooting. At a time when Abhinav Bindra is not available, this World Cup may bring out and polish some of the future stars who will carry on the legacy of shooting sport in India.
(With inputs from PTI)