Shooting gets a shot in the arm as Ronjan Sodhi and Manavjit Sandhu announce the Indian Shotgun Open

Olympians and ace shooters Ronjan Sodhi & Manavjit Sandhu at the announcement for the first-ever Indian Shotgun Open

New Delhi, 25th February 2014: Shooting as a sport has brought great laurels for India on the world and Olympic levels. The sport has already given us a gold, two silver and a bronze medal in the Olympics, with clear scope for much more.

To give the sport further impetus, The Sports Promotion Foundation, headed by ace Indian shooters Ronjan Sodhi and Manavjit Sandhu along with Dr. Amit Bhalla, Vice President of Manav Rachna International University, today announced the first-ever edition of the Indian Shotgun Open, to be held in the New Delhi from 26th to 28th February. The tournament is being organized with the sole purpose of promoting shooting in India on a platform never attempted before and with a hope that it will unearth many more shooting talents.

The Indian Shotgun Open seeks to encourage youngsters to compete shoulder to shoulder with the top guns while giving them a chance to win big prizes with the help of a unique Handicap System. Via this method, a less experienced shooter will be given an advantage in order to make it possible for him to arrive at par with the experienced shooters.

The tournament is being held under the patronage of The National Rifle Association of India. Speaking on the occasion, Shri Raninder Singh, President, National Rifle Association of India, said, “We are extremely happy that an event of this scale is being organized in India to promote shooting as a sport in the country. It is a great step and we are sure that the Indian Shotgun Open will pave the way for enhancing awareness about shooting and lot more youngsters taking up the sport.”

With total prizes worth Rs. 35 lakh for the top 30 shooters across the different categories, the Indian Shotgun Open will be one of the biggest shooting events in the country with over 300 shooters participating during the three-day tournament. Subsequently, the tournament will be an annual affair and the organizers hope to scale it up year-on-year, with increased prize money and participation from ace foreign shooters as well, to make it a marquee event for the international shooting calendar.