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The ISSF World Cup 2021 matches will start today, with the first qualification events being the 10m air rifle in the men's and women's category.
While the men's event will see the world's top three compete, the women are not lagging behind as four out of the top 10-ranked shooters will be participating.
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World top 3 men competing ISSF World Cup 2021
The first qualification event will be an interesting event, with the world's top 3 air rifle men - Divyansh Singh Panwar (1, India), Petar Gorsa (2, Croatia), and Istvan Peni (3, Hungary) - competing together after a long gap.
With 55 shooters on the field, the top 3 will aim to reach the final round by ranking in the top 8. Ahead of the Tokyo Olympics, it will be a test event for the shooters.
Both Indian Olympic-bound shooters - Divyansh and Deepak Kumar - along with Arjun Babuta will be competing at the event. How they perform at the ISSF World Cup 2021, will give them a reality check on their training.
The Rifle team will also face some strong international competition from Hungarian legend Peter Sidi. Rio Olympic silver medalist Serihy Kulish, who won against Indian legend Abhinav Bindra, will be the cherry on the cake for today's event. He is yet to qualify for Tokyo and would be in his best form to win the event at the ISSF World Cup 2021.
China and Russia skipping the event will bring up other international shooters in the top 10 rankings. Divynash won the gold medal at the Online Asian Shooting Championship in January. India is aiming for the top titles in the event with Divyansh leading the world charts.
Air Rifle women qualification round deciding factor for Tokyo Olympics berth
Indian women's 10m air rifle shooters have a lot at stake today at the ISSF World Cup 2021. Indian shooters Anjum Moudgil and Apurvi Chandela have won Olympic berths for India in the 10m air rifle category.
However, Indian shooter Elavenil Valarivan has made the team selection difficult for the NRAI as she is currently ranked first in the world rankings.
The other two rifle women shooters are also in the top 10, with Anjum in fourth and Apurvi in seventh position respectively. Their performances at the ISSF World Cup 2021 will be the determining factor for their Olympic berth.
India has three shooters in the top 10, but there will also be very strong competition from international shooters. Ibsen Rikke Maeng of Denmark and Mary Tucker of the USA will be aiming to take home Olympic berths, for which they will have to take spots in the final top rankings.
Taking the competition to another level, Olympic gold medalist from the US, Virginia Thrasher, Tokyo Olympic quota holder Seonaid Mcintosh, and Croatian legend Snjezana Pejcic will also be competing this year.
Qualification rounds in the 10m air rifle would set a strong benchmark for the World Cup ahead. The ISSF World Cup 2021, 10m air rifle men's qualification round will start at 1:45 pm, followed by the 10m air rifle women's qualification starting at 3:45 pm.
