Indian trap shooters eye strong show in Tangier

Indian trap shooters begin their campaign at the ISSF Shotgun World Cup in Tangier against a strong international field. With experienced names in the squad, India will aim to secure its first medal of the season after a disappointing skeet performance.

Hyderabad: The Indian trap shooters will hope for a strong performance amidst a strong field as the competition for Trap at the ISSF Shotgun World Cup Tangier gets underway at the Club Tangérois de Tir in Tangier, Morocco.

The competition will start with 75 targets for both men and women, which will be followed by 50 targets and the finals on Sunday.

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A highly competitive field consisting of the reigning Olympic and World champions has entered the competition. India have entered the maximum quota of six athletes in both men and women, along with two shooters each in both categories who will be competing for ranking points.

The women’s field will see reigning Olympic champion Adriana Ruano, who won Guatemala’s first-ever Olympic gold medal, and the 24-year-old world champion Mar Molné Magriñá from Spain headlining the 59-strong lineup. The other prominent athletes include World Championship bronze medallist Sandra Bernal of Poland, World Championship finalists Fatima Galvez of Spain and Ines de Barros of Portugal, and Tokyo Olympics bronze medallist Alessandra Perilli of San Marino, among others.

The Indian team consists of Olympian Rajeshwari Kumari, nationals runner-up Kirti Gupta and Aashima Ahlawat. Preeti Rajak and Shreshtha Sisodiya will be competing for ranking points.

In the men’s event, an 84-strong field has entered the competition, with reigning world champion Josip Glasnovic of Croatia and Paris Olympic champion Nathan Hales of Great Britain headlining the field. Among other accomplished shooters in the lineup are former World Championship medallist Anton Glasnovic, current ISSF World Cup Final gold medallist William Hinton of the USA and World Championship silver medallist Andres Garcia of Spain.

India’s hopes are set on the experienced trio of Prithviraj Tondaiman, Kynan Chenai and Bhownesh Mendiratta. Sharan Susheel Gyanchand and Mohammad Asad Sultan will be competing for ranking points.

The skeet shooters failed to qualify for the finals earlier in the competition, but the trap athletes will be confident of a better showing and securing India’s first medal of the season.