New Delhi, May 24 (IANS) The National Rifle Association of India (NRAI) selection committee announced a 22-member Indian team for the ISSF World Cup Munich, with double Olympic medallist Manu Bhaker and fellow Olympian and world championship medallist Esha Singh being the only members of the squad to start in two individual pistol events, while Manu will additionally compete in the mixed team pistol event. 

The ISSF World Cup Rifle/Pistol is scheduled from May 24 to 31 in Munich, Germany, which is traditionally billed as a blue-riband annual event in the sport.

The first shots will be fired at the iconic OlympiaschieBanlage in the German capital on Tuesday with the 25m Pistol Women Precision Stage as the first event. Simultaneously, the qualification round of the 10m Air Pistol Men and the elimination round of the women's 50m Rifle 3 Positions will also commence, followed by the qualification for the 10m Air Rifle Men event. The first day will see two finals, 10m Air Pistol Men and 10m Air Rifle Men, being held.

A huge 696 athletes from 80 countries have entered the fray for the Munich World Cup, including a galaxy of Olympic and world champions, ready to test their competition readiness, their weapons and ammunition and, indeed, their accuracy against the best of the best, ahead of premiere multi-sport events and the Shooting World Championships later in the year.

This will be the year’s second Rifle/Pistol World Cup, with India having garnered one gold in the Granada World Cup, back in April. That team consisted of shooters ranked between 3 and 6 in the domestic rankings. In Munich, the top-ranked Indian rifle and pistol shooters are set to compete in a top international competition away from home for the first time in the year.

The Indian team has a healthy mix of experience and youth, but they will be up against it with the royalty of rifle and pistol shooting set to make their annual trip to Munich.

Rahi Sarnobat, two-time Olympian and a former Asian Games champion, will be the senior-most Indian marksman in Munich. Other proven international performers include the likes of Samrat Rana (reigning world champion), Rudrankksh Patil (former world champion), Anish Bhanwala (world championship silver), Aishwary Pratap Singh Tomar (world championship silver), Elavenil Valarivan (world championship bronze), Suruchi Singh (World Cup Final winner) and Arjun Babuta (reigning Munich mixed team champion).

Among the India debutants, Sakshi Padekar from Pune, Maharashtra, is 22 and a remarkable success story. She has been in great form in qualifications over the past year, recording at least two scores of 634 in the period. Two others were over 632. She bettered the women’s 10m air rifle finals national record score en route to trials win over Elavenil Valarivan earlier in the year. She is also a Khelo India University Games champion.

Suraj Sharma, is just 18 and the youngest of the Indian debutants in Munich. A M.P Shooting Academy product and the son of a BSF martyr, Suraj’s rise through the junior ranks to emerge as one of the most promising pistol shooters of the country has been stunning. He is a former junior world champion in standard pistol and a reigning Asian champion in 25m pistol. He has recorded a high score of 558 in the trials earlier this year.

Ajendra Singh Chauhan is a 23-year-old army marksman who made the team over impressive performances in the domestic circuit. He shot a top 588 in the trials earlier in the year.

Udhayveer Sidhu, twin brother of Olympian Vijayveer Sidhu, is 23 and a three-time junior world champion in non-olympic events and will be making his Olympic event debut for India in Munich, when he starts in the men’s 25m rapid-fire pistol. The Punjab lad shot a 585 in the trials to pip his brother to the third Munich spot.

--IANS