The ISSF World Cup 2021 in New Delhi has been the most successful event in Indian shooting history. The host nation signed-off with 30 medals, half of them being gold medals. They also cornered 9 silver and 6 bronze medals.
India marked its sixth successive number 1 finish at the ISSF World Cup. India's shooting contingent outnumbered all the other 53 countries. While India topped the medal tally, the USA and Italy finished second and third, miles behind India.
India's 15 Olympic-bound shooters were part of the medal-winning teams. The Indian shooting squad has a talented pool of young and veteran shooters.
Record-Breaking performances by Olympic bound shooters at ISSF World Cup 2021
The ISSF World Cup 2021 could be a preview of the performance of the Indian shooting contingent at the much-awaited Tokyo Olympics. India has grabbed an Olympic berth in all shooting events, apart from the double trap and the 25m rapid fire pistol.
The host country portrayed strong domination in the 10m air pistol, 25m pistol, 50m rifle 3P, double trap, and skeet events. The Indian medal tally was largely swelled with medal-winning performances by Olympic-bound shooters.
The 10m air pistol event was the show-stealer as the Indian shooting contingent won 8 medals, conquering all the categories. Olympic-bound shooters Manu Bhaker, Abhishek Verma, Yashaswini Singh Deswal, and Saurabh Chaudhary were part of the 10m pistol team.
India also had a clean sweep in the 25m pistol event, winning all the top positions at the ISSF World Cup 2021.
However, in the 10m air rifle women's event at the ISSF World Cup 2021, India's Olympic-bound shooters Apurvi Chandela and Anjum Moudgil couldn't reach the podium. In the men's category, Divyansh Singh Panwar settled for the Bronze medal in the individual category.
India's Olympic-bound shooters aced the team and mixed team events, clinching the gold medals at the ISSF World Cup 2021.
Medal tally of India's Olympic bound shooters at ISSF World Cup 2021
Manu Bhaker, 10m air pistol and 25m pistol (5)
Yashaswini Singh Deswal, 10m air pistol (3)
Abhishek Verma, 10m air pistol (3)
Saurabh Chaudhary, 10m air pistol (3)
Divyansh Singh Panwar, 10m air rifle (2)
Deepak Kumar, 10m air rifle(1)
Rahi Sarnobat, 25m pistol (2)
Chinki Yadav, 25m pistol (2)
Aishwary Pratap Singh Tomar, 50m rifle 3P (2)
Anjum Moudgil, 50m rifle 3P (1)
Sanjeev Singh Rajput, 50m rifle 3P (1)
Tejaswini Sawant, 50m rifle 3P (1)
Angad Singh Bajwa, skeet (2)
Mairaj Ahmed Khan, skeet(1)
* () denotes the number of medals won
Young Indian shooters beat their seniors at ISSF World Cup 2021
India has a good blend of young and veteran shooters. However, the youngsters outperformed their seniors this year. The top world ranking holders from India are dominated by juvenile shooters ranging from the age of 18-23 years.
The world's top 10m air rifle shooter, Divyansh Singh Panwar, is just 18 years old. Meanwhile, the 19-year-old 10m air pistol favorites Manu Bhaker and Saurabh Chaudhary once again dominated the mixed event.
18-year-old Vivyaveer Sidhu won the silver medal in the 25m rapid fire pistol event, beating his seniors at the ISSF World Cup 2021. While defeating the world's top shooter Istvan Peni in the 50m rifle 3P event, 20-year-old Aishwary Pratap Singh claimed the gold in the event.
Ganemat Sekhon(20-year-old) created history by winning India's first-ever medal in the skeet individual women category. Meanwhile, 23-year-old Yashaswini Singh Deswal and Chink Yadav captured the gold medals in the 10m air pistol and 25m pistol categories respectively.
Indian shooters claim top World Rankings
After a successful ISSF World Cup 2021, Indian shooters have reached the top world rankings in different events.
Yashaswini Singh Deswal and Abhishek Verma stand in the world's top ranks in the 10m air pistol event. Meanwhile, Manu and Saurabh ranked second in the world in the same event.
Elavenil Valarivan maintained her world rank one while Anjum Moudgli climbed up to third place in the 10m air rifle event. Divyansh Singh Panwar dipped down to the world's second rank from the first.
Chinki Yadav and Rahi Sarnobat have claimed the world's top and second ranks in the 25m pistol event respectively. Meanwhile, Aishwary Pratap Singh Tomar climbed up to the world's second ranking in the 50m rifle 3P event.
India has emerged as a powerhouse in shooting sports at the ISSF World Cup 2021. However, the top countries like China, Japan, and Germany skipped the event.
The Indian shooting team will face the top international shooters at the Tokyo Olympics. NRAI is planning to finalize the shooting team for the Tokyo Olympics by April 3rd or 4th.