Lonato Shotgun World Cup: India seeks to arrest alarming slump ahead of Asian Games

With the Asian Games approaching, India’s shotgun shooters face a critical test at the ISSF World Cup in Lonato, Italy. The squad aims to reverse a prolonged international slump that stands in stark contrast to rifle and pistol successes

New Delhi: India head into the third ISSF Shotgun World Cup of the season in Lonato, Italy from Saturday, with little to show from the first two stops, as the country’s alarming slump in shotgun events continue to defy expectations.

With the Asian Games fast approaching, the lack of form is a worrying trend, especially in stark contrast to the consistent success enjoyed by India’s rifle and pistol shooters.

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The Lonato meet, followed by the ISSF World Cup in Hangzhou later this month, offers India’s shotgun shooters their final two major international opportunities to fine-tune their preparations before the Asian Games.

Yet, the National Rifle Association of India (NRAI) will be searching for answers as the discipline that once spearheaded the country’s shooting success has slipped into an unexpected decline.

From trailblazers like Karni Singh and shooter-turned-administrator Randhir Singh to Olympic silver medallist Rajyavardhan Singh Rathore, world champion Manavjit Singh Sandhu, and multiple World Cup and World Cup Final gold medallist Ronjan Sodhi, shotgun shooting has long been India’s flag-bearer on the global stage.

Against this backdrop, the World Cup in Lonato gets underway at the sport’s virtual fortress, where the field is invariably among the strongest in the world.

It is here that the expertise of India’s foreign coach, British Olympic double-trap champion Peter Wilson, is expected to make a difference — something that, unfortunately, has not been evident in the previous two World Cups.

India will field its Asian Games-bound trap trio of Kynan Chenai, Ahvar Rizvi and Shapath Bharadwaj in Lonato, but despite consistently doing well in the domestic trials and competitions, the three have struggled to make an impact on the international stage, finishing well down the order in the two World Cups this season.

The numbers underline India’s struggles. Kynan’s best effort was a modest 119/125 in qualification, good enough for only 13th place at the Morocco World Cup in March. At the Almaty World Cup in May, Shapath finished 16th with 118, while Rizvi was a disappointing 39th with 115.

The gulf between them and world’s best was evident, with the qualification topper hitting a near-flawless 124/125.

The story is no different in men’s skeet. India’s Asian Games trio of Anantjeet Singh Naruka, Bhavtegh Singh Gill and veteran Olympian Mairaj Ahmad Khan has also struggled to match world standards.

At the Almaty World Cup, Mairaj and Bhavtegh shot 119/125 to finish 18th and 19th respectively, while Naruka was a lowly 38th with 117.

The women’s squad has fared no better. The Asian Games-bound trap trio of Neeru, Manisha Keer and Aashima Ahlawat, along with skeet shooters Parinaaz Dhaliwal and Olympians Raiza Dhillon and Maheshwari Chauhan, have also failed to make a meaningful impact on the World Cup circuit this season.

“It also raises questions about the effectiveness of the domestic coaching setup, support staff and officials who accompany the shotgun team on international assignments, even though much of the scrutiny tends to fall on the foreign coach,” said a former shotgun shooter of repute on condition of anonymity.

Aashima’s best result this season was a 14th-place finish at the Morocco World Cup, where she shot 111/125. Neeru did make the final at the Almaty World Cup but could finish only seventh among the eight finalists, while Manisha ended 26th with 112, well off the pace set by the leading shooters in qualification.

In women’s skeet, too, India was off the pace. Olympian Raiza Dhillon finished 17th at the Almaty World Cup, while Parinaaz Dhaliwal ended 32nd, with neither managing to challenge for a place in the finals.

The contrast with India’s rifle and pistol shooters could hardly be sharper. While shotgun has endured a prolonged slump, rifle and pistol continue to deliver consistently at both the senior and junior levels.

That was underlined at the ISSF Junior World Championship in Suhl, Germany, where India topped the medal table on the strength of its rifle and pistol shooters, with shotgun failing to contribute a single medal.

Squad:

Trap (Men): Kynan Chenai, Ahvar Rizvi, Shapath Bharadwaj. (Women) Neeru, Manisha Keer, Aashima Ahlawat.

Skeet (Men): Anantjeet Singh Naruka, Bhavtegh Singh Gill, Mairaj Ahmad. (Women) Parinaaz Dhaliwal, Raiza Dhillon Maheshwari Chauhan.

Trap Mixed: Kynan Chenai, Neeru. Ahvar Rizvi and Manisha Keer.