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With the Hangzhou Asian Games scheduled to start on September 23, all eyes are on the Indian shooters as they have performed well in previous editions. Recently the National Rifle Association of India finalized the team for the rifle and pistol events at the Asiad.
The rifle and pistol squad for Asian Games 2023 is as follows:
Air Rifle Mixed Team - Divyansh Singh Panwar, Ramita and Aishwary Pratap Singh Tomar, Mehuli Ghosh
Air Pistol Mixed Team - Sarabjot Singh, Divya TS and Shiva Narwal, Esha Singh
Men's Squad
10m Air Rifle - Rudrankksh Patil, Divyansh Singh Panwar, Aishwary Pratap Singh Tomar
50m Rifle 3 positions - Aishwary Pratap Singh Tomar, Swapnil Kusale, Akhil Sheoran
10m Air Pistol - Sarabjot Singh, Shiva Narwal, Arjun Singh Cheema
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25m Rapid Fire Pistol - Anish, Vijayveer Sidhu, Adarsh Singh
Women's Squad
10m Air Rifle - Mehuli Ghosh, Ramita, Ashi Chouksey
50m Rifle 3 positions - Sift Kaur Samra, Ashi Chouksey, Manini Kaushik
10m Air Pistol - Esha Singh, Palak, Divya TS
25m Sports Pistol - Rhythm Sangwan, Manu Bhaker, Esha Singh
Let us now take an in-depth look at the rifle and pistol squad for the Asian Games:
#1 Men's 10m Air Rifle
The final squad for this event includes Rudrankksh Patil, who is currently one of the most talented shooters in India. He has been consistent since last year. This 19-year-old shooter came into the spotlight when he won an Olympic quota for India in this event.
Rudrankksh won the gold at the World Championships 2022 held in Cairo. In 2023, he has already claimed the gold in the Cairo World Cup as well as a bronze medal at the Bhopal World Cup. His present form is a good sign for India ahead of the Asian Games.
The Men's 10m Air Rifle squad also has another amazing talent named Divyansh Singh Panwar, who clinched the gold at the 2019 World Cup final in Putian. Panwar also claimed the silver in the 2019 World Cup in Beijing and the bronze in the 2021 Delhi World Cup. This list also features the talented Aishwary Pratap Singh Tomar.
#2 Women's 10m Air Rifle
The Asian Games squad in this event consists of young talents like Ramita and Ashi Chouksey. Mehuli Ghosh is also in the squad. She won bronze at the 2018 World Cup in Guadalajara in this event. This 22-year-old shooter also claimed the gold in 2017 in the Asian Championships in the 10m Air Rifle Women Youth event.
#3 Men's 50m Rifle 3 positions
In this section, Aishwary Pratap Singh Tomar looks the strongest. In 2019, he clinched the bronze at the Asian Championships in Doha. Aishwary also won the gold in this event at the Delhi World Cup in 2021 as well as the 2022 World Cup in Changwon and the 2023 World Cup in Cairo.
Another good shooter in the list of Men's 50m Rifle 3 positions is Swapnil Kusale, who has already won an Olympic quota for India in this event. He secured the fourth position in the 2022 World Championships in Cairo. Apart from them, Akhil Sheoran is also in the Asian Games squad. It must be noted that he won a gold medal in the 2018 World Cup in Guadalajara.
#4 Women's 50m Rifle 3 positions
Shooters who made it to the squad announced for the Asian Games in this event include: Sift Kaur Samra, who clinched the gold in the 2022 ISSF Junior Cup in Suhl in 50m Rifle 3 positions Women Junior; Ashi Chouksey, who won the bronze in the 2022 ISSF Junior Cup in Suhl in the 50m Rifle 3 positions Women Junior event, and the talented Manini Kaushik.
#5 Men's 10m Air Pistol
First shooter in this squad is Sarabjot Singh. He clinched the gold in the 2019 Asian Championships in Taoyuan. The 21-year-old prodigy also claimed the gold in the 2019 ISSF Junior World Cup in Suhl and the silver in the 2022 ISSF Junior World Cup in Suhl. This year, Sarabjot won the gold in the World Cup held in New Delhi to announce himself as a title contender ahead of the Asiad.
The list also has the talented Shiva Narwal, who grabbed the gold in the 2022 ISSF Junior Cup in Suhl in the 10m Air Pistol Men Junior event. Apart from that, Arjun Singh Cheema is also in the squad.
#6 Women's 10m Air Pistol
In this squad, there are shooters like Esha Singh and emerging talent Palak. Esha Singh clinched the gold in the 2019 Asian Championships in Doha in the 10m Air Pistol Women Junior event. She also won the silver in the 2022 World Cup held in Cairo in the Women's 10m Air Pistol category.
Divya TS is also a part of the team. It is noteworthy that she won the gold in the 65th National Championship in this event held in Bhopal.
#7 Men's 25m Rapid Fire pistol
First name in this squad is Vijayveer Sidhu. He grabbed the silver in the 2021 World Cup held in New Delhi. Yough Vijayveer also claimed the bronze in the 2022 ISSF Junior Cup in Suhl in the 25m Rapid Fire pistol Men Junior event.
Another name in this event's list is Anish. He won the bronze in the 2018 ISSF Junior World Cup in Suhl in the 25m Rapid Fire pistol Men Junior category and the gold in the 2018 ISSF Junior World Cup in Sydney in the same event. Adarsh Singh is also in the team.
#8 Women's 25m sports pistol
This section comprises shooters like Manu Bhaker and Rhythm Sangwan. Manu Bhaker clinched the bronze in the 2021 World Cup in New Delhi and another bronze in the 2023 World Cup in Bhopal. Rhythm Sangwan, meanwhile, won the gold in the 2022 ISSF Junior Cup held in Suhl. Apart from them, Esha Singh is also in this list.
So, the overall Asian Games squad for rifle and pistol events looks formidable. Although some big names who had won medals in the previous edition of the Asian Games are missing, the young emerging shooters are doing well and will therefore look to make the country proud at the upcoming mega continental event.
