ISSF World Cup preview: Elavenil, Varun Tomar spearhead India’s second string in Munich; some seasoned shooters to compete for RPO
Having won 15 medals in the first two World Cups of the season, including six gold, Indian shooting will aim for all-around growth during the World Cup starting in Munich, Germany, on Tuesday.
China had topped the medals table twice with 11 and 13 medals, which included nine gold in all. India was second in Buenos Aires and third in Lima. It was the shotgun gold medals that had helped the USA stay ahead of India, after the two teams shot seven medals each in Peru.
With the Munich World Cup restricted to pistol and rifle events, the National Rifle Association of India (NRAI) has opted to give a chance to the second string, while retaining some of the best shooters with an eye on the medals table.
The competition starts with women’s air rifle and men’s air pistol. The former World No. 1 Elavenil Valarivan will spearhead the Indian challenge along with Ananya Naidu and Arya Borse. Two seasoned shooters, Ramita Jindal and Meghana Sajjanar, will be shooting in the Ranking Points Only (RPO) section.
In the men’s air pistol, Olympic medallist Sarabjot Singh will compete in the RPO section along with Arjun Singh Cheema. It means that they shoot only the qualification and will not be eligible to compete in the final.
The strong Varun Tomar will have the company of newcomers Aditya Malra and Nishant Rawat in the main event.
With the best of the shooting fraternity assembled in Germany, as the shooters aspire to compete in the World Cup, there will be no dearth of competition. It remains to be seen how well the young Indian shooters capitalise on the big stage to tune themselves to a higher standard of performance.