NEW DELHI: Leading Indian shooters, including double Olympic medallist Manu Bhaker, Sift Kaur Samra, Arjun Babuta, and Saurabh Chaudhary, will compete for continental honours as a record 182-member Indian contingent begins its campaign at the Asian Championships (Rifle/Pistol/Shotgun) in Shymkent, Kazakhstan, on Monday.
India is fielding its largest-ever team for the tournament, which features competitions across senior, junior, and youth categories. A total of 58 events — 46 individual and 12 mixed team — will be contested across the various divisions.
At the previous edition in Changwon, India had secured 59 medals overall (21 gold, 22 silver, 16 bronze), including 19 at the senior level. The senior medals comprised six gold, eight silver, and five bronze, placing India third behind China, which topped the table with 14 golds (33 total), and hosts South Korea with nine golds (24 total).
India’s sole individual gold came in the 50m rifle 3-positions event, won by Aishwary Pratap Singh Tomar, while the remaining golds were claimed in team and mixed team events — a fact senior shooters will keenly note ahead of this year’s competition.
Manu Bhaker, following her stellar performance at the Paris Olympics where she clinched bronze in both the women’s 10m air pistol individual and mixed team events, will aim for gold after winning a team silver in the 25m pistol at the previous continental edition.
India also boasts two experienced 10m air rifle shooters — former world champion Rudrankksh Patil and Olympian Arjun Babuta — along with Asian Games gold medallist 10m air pistol shooter Saurabh Chaudhary, who is returning to competitive form.
In the 25m rapid-fire pistol, Olympian Anish Bhanwala will lead the Indian challenge, while Manu will contest medals in both the 10m air pistol and 25m pistol events.
In addition to Chinese and Korean shooters, India will face strong competition from hosts Kazakhstan, fielding the second-largest contingent with 111 entries, followed by Korea (70), China (41), Iran (29), Chinese Taipei (24), and Vietnam (20).
India’s senior category will see five shooters per event, with three competing for medals and two participating for ranking points. In the junior section, six shooters will compete in each event, with three vying for medals and the others for qualification and ranking.
While most Indian athletes will compete in Olympic disciplines, several will also participate in non-Olympic events, including centre-fire, standard, free pistol, rifle prone, and double trap.
