Top Indian shooters will compete against the world’s elite in shooting sports in Delhi at the end of the year to win the top prize

New Delhi [India]September 26 (ANI): At least eight reigning Olympic champions will be among the world’s top 132 shooters from 37 nations who will converge on the Karni Singh Shooting Range (DKSSR) in the national capital in mid-October to participate in the International Shooting Sport Federation (ISSF) Rifle/Pistol/Shotgun World Cup Finals in New Delhi in 2024.

The prestigious and traditional ISSF competition, which offers coveted trophies as well as cash prizes, is an end-of-season showdown to determine the best shooter of the year in each of the twelve Olympic individual disciplines.

A team of 23 top Indian players will also be among them and will compete against the world’s elite shooters on home soil. The team can compete at full strength thanks to the host country’s wildcard and direct qualification.

Commenting on the confirmed list of participants, Kalikesh Narayan Singh Deo, President, National Rifle Association of India (NRAI), said that the event will be a feast for the fans of the sport in India, “It will be a feast for the fans of the sport in India in particular and for shooting sports aficionados across the world as the best of the best in the world of sports shooting will take aim at our very own Karni Singh Shooting Range. We at NRAI are committed to bringing these world events home on a regular basis, not only to boost the confidence of our own shooters but also to ensure that the coming generations can draw inspiration from true sporting legends, including their own, by seeing them perform live in front of them,” Kalikesh was quoted as saying in a press release from NRAI.

The world’s best six athletes from the six ISSF World Cup stages that will take place in 2024, as well as the Olympic medalists from Paris, the defending champions of the ISSF World Cup Final and the reigning world champions have qualified directly for the shooting spectacle in New Delhi in each of the twelve disciplines.

The host association was also granted wildcard options to fill the quota of a maximum of two shooters per country and event if this was not achieved through direct qualification.

Among the eight Olympic champions who have confirmed their participation, four are from China. Paris Olympics men’s 10m air rifle champion Sheng Lihao, 50m rifle three positions (3P) winner Yukun Liu, 10m air pistol winner Xie Yu and 25m rapid fire pistol (RFP) winner Li Yuehong will all be seen in action in New Delhi.

In addition to the Chinese champions, Korean Yang Jiin, who won the women’s 25m pistol in Paris, will also be part of the six-member Korean team travelling to Delhi. Also in action at the Karni Singh shooting ranges will be Olympic champions in men’s and women’s trap, Nathan Hales (Great Britain) and Adriana Ruano Oliva (Guatemala).

Switzerland’s Chiara Leone, who won the women’s 3P in Paris, will be the eighth reigning champion to travel to India.

In three events, the men’s 10m air pistol, the men’s trap and the women’s 25m pistol, all three medallists from Paris will actually be competing for the top prize of €5,000. All defending champions from all 12 events from last year in Doha will also be there to defend their titles. (ANI)