Shooting Nationals 2024-25 in Delhi, Bhopal to serve as precursor to India selection ahead of new season
A record 13,522 shooters have qualified to participate in the 67th National Shooting Championship Competition (NSCC), which is set to get underway at the Dr. Karni Singh Shooting Range (DKSSR) on Wednesday, heralding the beginning of a brand-new season.
While the shotgun (December 11, 2024-January 19, 2025) and pistol (December 13, 2024-Jan 5, 2025) competitions will be held at the DKSSR, Bhopal’s M.P. State Shooting Academy ranges will hold the rifle nationals (December 15-31).
The official pre-event training for skeet shooters belonging to Group 2 and 3 will start on Wednesday, with qualification rounds beginning on Thursday. Group 1 shooters take to the ranges from December 21. Both the defending champions Anantjeet Singh Naruka in men’s skeet and Ganemat Sekhon in the women’s skeet, will be there to defend their crowns.
A total of 837 Shotgun shooters across the skeet, trap and double trap events will be competing across five classifications which include master, senior master and super master, besides the senior and junior classifications.
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Rifle has seen the most entries with 7,013 participants across classifications while the pistol nationals will see 5,672 competitors vying for the coveted national champion crown.
Sharing his thoughts ahead of the nationals, Kalikesh Narayan Singh Deo, president of the National Rifle Association of India (NRAI), said, “We are very excited with the growing popularity of the sport in the country which has resulted in such record participation in the nationals. Our consistent international success and particularly the performance of our shooters at the Paris Olympics earlier this year where we came back with a record three bronze medals, has certainly contributed to these numbers.”
A total of 40 teams will be represented at the nationals, including almost all states and union territories as well as those representing the armed forces of the country and public institutions like the ONGC and the Railways.
All top shooters of the country will be participating in the nationals, whose scores will be counted when the Indian team for the 2025 international season is declared.