Indian shooters ready for final World Cup stage in Italy

India's skeet and trap shooters gear up for the final ISSF Shotgun World Cup in Lonato, Italy, with Olympians and Asian Games medallists leading the charge ahead of the World Championships

Hyderabad: A six-member Indian men’s and women’s skeet shooting squad will take first aim as the international season’s fourth and final ISSF World Cup Shotgun stage gets set to begin at one of the sport’s traditional amphitheaters — the Trap Concaverde in Lonato, Italy.

While the skeet squad has already arrived in the Italian town, a further six members of the trap team are expected to arrive on July 5, 2025.

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The qualifying rounds of the men’s and women’s skeet competitions will begin on Sunday, July 6, 2025, with both finals scheduled for Tuesday, July 8, 2025.

Indian hopes will lie with Olympians Mairaj Ahmad Khan, Angad Vir Singh Bajwa, and Anantjeet Singh Naruka in the men’s skeet. The women’s team also boasts two Olympians — Maheshwari Chauhan and Raiza Dhillon — alongside the accomplished Ganemat Sekhon.

Former Asian Games silver medallist Lakshay Sheoran will lead India’s challenge in men’s trap alongside veteran Zoravar Singh Sandhu and the upcoming Jaswinder Singh. Neeru Dhanda, Preeti Rajak, and Pragati Dubey will represent India in women’s trap.

In the mixed team trap event, where India won its only shotgun World Cup medal of the year in Nicosia, the pairs are Lakshay & Neeru and Zoravar & Preeti.

The skeet team has already begun acclimatization and unofficial training under the guidance of coach Vikram Chopra, with official pre-event training scheduled for Saturday.

“The squad has settled down well and is training in right earnest,” said Mr Chopra from Lonato. “We even went out to celebrate Anant’s birthday on Tuesday, and it was brilliant from a bonding perspective as well. This will be the last World Cup stage before the World Championships in Athens, and it is important that things start falling into place at the right time,” he concluded.

Lonato generally attracts the largest contingent of shotgun shooters in a World Cup, and this year too, as many as 551 athletes from 73 nations have entered to compete.

Indian Squad for Lonato World Cup
Skeet (Men): Mairaj Ahmad Khan, Angad Vir Singh Bajwa, Anantjeet Singh Naruka

Skeet (Women): Maheshwari Chauhan, Raiza Dhillon, Ganemat Sekhon

Trap (Men): Lakshay Sheoran, Zoravar Singh Sandhu, Jaswinder Singh

Trap (Women): Neeru Dhanda, Preeti Rajak, Pragati Dubey

Trap Mixed Team: Lakshay Sheoran & Neeru Dhanda
Zoravar Singh Sandhu & Preeti Rajak