India’s elite shooters to compete in national trials from Tuesday

Elite Indian shooters—including Olympic and World Cup medallists—begin National Selection Trials 3 & 4 in Raipur, aiming for Asian Championships and ISSF World Cup berths, following strong international performances

Hyderabad: India’s top shooters will be seen in action as the National Selection Trials 3 & 4 for Group ‘A’ athletes commence at the Trishul Shooting Range, Maharana Pratap Sports College, Raipur, Dehradun, from Tuesday.

These trials will help shape the Indian shooting team for the 16th Asian Shooting Championships  2025 in Kazakhstan in August and the ISSF World Cup in Ningbo, China in September.

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The first day features Stage 1 qualifying of Rapid Fire Pistol Men, divided into three relays. Day 2 will include three finals: 10m Air Rifle Men, 25m Rapid Fire Pistol Men, and 50m 3‑Positions Women.

The shooters come into this selection phase following an encouraging run in the double-legged South American ISSF World Cup tour—begun the new international calendar—and the recently concluded Munich World Cup. Across Argentina, Peru, and Munich, Indian shooters reached 39 finals (including mixed‑team medal rounds) and earned 19 medals, eight of them gold.

Among the top contenders: Suruchi Inder Singh (first Indian with gold in three consecutive World Cups), Munich gold medalists Arya Borse and Arjun Babuta, Olympic medallists Manu Bhaker, Sarabjot Singh and Swapnil Kusale, current World Cup medallists Saurabh Chaudhary, Rudrankksh Patil, Elavenil Valarivan, Sift Kaur Samra, Vijayveer Sidhu and Chain Singh, along with prominent shooters like Aishwary Pratap Singh Tomar, Sandeep Singh, Varun Tomar and Kiran Ankush Yadav.

As per selection criteria, only eligible Group “A” shooters will participate. Trials 3 & 4 cover all Olympic rifle and pistol events with limited slots: 50 each for 10m Air Rifle (men & women) and 10m Air Pistol (men & women); 30 each for 50m Rifle 3‑Positions (men & women); 20 for 25m Rapid Fire Pistol (men); and 30 for 25m Sport Pistol (women).