With the return of Dhanush Srikanth, Indian shooters eager to make a mark in Grenada! Medal hopes increased in World Cup

Grenada: Indian pistol and rifle shooters will look to continue their dominant performance last year at the season-opening ISSF World Cup here from Monday. Indian pistol and rifle shooters had a fantastic World Cup season last year, where they set new benchmarks with strong performances in almost every competition.

After a disappointing start at the Shotgun World Cup held in Morocco, the Indian shooters’ focus is on the pistol and rifle events. India has traditionally excelled in pistol and rifle events. The team will be eager to compete with a fresh winning mentality, which will be bolstered by the presence of some of the best shooters in the country including Olympians Rhythm Sangwan, Anjum Moudgil and Mehuli Ghosh.

However, the team will miss the experience of two-time Olympic medalist Manu Bhaker and world champion Samrat Rana, as they are not part of the squad. As per the national federation’s rotation policy to ensure all members of the national team get an opportunity to showcase their skills, experienced pistol shooters Bhakar, Suruchi Inder Singh and Samrat Rana, among others, will participate in the Pistol and Rifle World Cup to be held in Munich in May.

However, there is no dearth of stars in the team participating in the season-opening World Cup. Among them, pistol shooter Sangwan will be eager to make a place on the podium with the aim of leaving behind her the streak of missing medals in the World Cup in the last two years and strengthening her claim for selection in the Asian Games.
Experienced rifle shooters Anjum and Mehuli are also coming into the new season after disappointing previous performances and will be keen to leave a strong mark in this crucial year. Similarly, Anjum, a 32-year-old veteran and specialist in the women’s 50m rifle three-position event, will be keen to regain her best form after a disappointing season.

His bronze medal at the Asian Championships held in Delhi earlier this year could provide him with the needed boost ahead of the World Cup. The most encouraging aspect of the team is the return of deaf and mute 10m air rifle shooter Dhanush Srikanth to the World Cup squad after almost three years. 23-year-old Srikanth last played in the 2022 World Cup held in Baku and since then has been performing consistently on the international stage. He won the gold medal in men’s 10 meter rifle at the Tokyo Deaflympics with a record score (252.2 points).

Indian team:

Male:

10 meter air rifle: Gajanan Khandagle, Arshdeep Singh, Dhanush Srikanth.

50m Rifle Three-P: Neeraj Kumar, Akhil Sheoran, Chain Singh.

10 meter air pistol: Mukesh Nelavalli, Ujjwal Malik, Pramod.

25 meter rapidfire: Vijayveer Sidhu, Neeraj Kumar, Ankur Goyal.

Woman:

10 meter air rifle: Sonam Maskar, Shruti, Mehuli Ghosh.

50 meter rifle 3-p: Ayushi Poddar, Anjum Moudgil, Surbhi Rapole.

10 meter air pistol: Palak, Sanyam, Meenu Pathak.

25 meter pistol: Rhythm Sangwan, Simranpreet Kaur Brar, Divya TS.

Mixed Team:

Air Rifle: Gajanan Khandagle/Sonam Masker; Arshdeep Singh/Shruti.

Air Pistol: Mukesh Nelavalli/Palak; Ujjwal Malik/Sanyam.