Fired up

The shooting World Cup in Delhi brought out the fierce competition among Indian shooters for Tokyo slots

- NEERU BHATIA

Fifteen gold, nine silver and six bronze medals. India had its best-ever medal haul in an ISSF Shooting World Cup, topping the table at the New Delhi event that concluded on March 28. The USA, with four gold, three silver and one bronze medals, came a distant second. The performance put a big smile on the face of Raninder Singh, president of National Rifle Association of India (NRAI). But several of his shooters were not as happy, because their Tokyo Olympics dreams had hinged on this competition.

For all the 294 shooters from 53 countries, this World Cup was crucial. It was the first international outing for rifle and pistol shooters during the pandemic, and the second for shotgun shooters, following the ISSF World Cup in Cairo in February. There were important ranking points to garner, too. Those who are in the top ten and have not yet got a quota for the Olympics will be awarded world ranking quota places in June, as per the ISSF’s new Covid-adjusted rules.

The line-up in Delhi was not the best as top shooters from powerhouses like China, Japan and Russia gave the event a miss. Nevertheless, it was still a much-needed event for them, perhaps even the only international event before the Olympics. Baku is scheduled to host one more World Cup in June, but there is uncertainty over it.