Cairo,Egypt, 20 April (H.S.):
The ISSF Junior World Cup for rifle, pistol and shotgun will begin at the Egypt International Olympic City in Cairo on Tuesday, with two medals on offer on the opening day in the women’s 10m air rifle and men’s 10m air pistol events.
India has fielded a strong contingent of 71 shooters for the competition, with the first batch of 58 athletes and support staff having already arrived in Cairo on Monday. The opening day will begin with the 25m pistol precision stage for men and women, and the skeet events for men and women, each with 75 targets. The qualification round will begin at 12:30 pm IST (9:00 am local time). The women’s 10m air rifle qualification will start at 12:45 pm IST (9:15 am local time), while the final is scheduled for 3:30 pm IST (12:00 noon local time).
The second medal event of the day will be the men’s 10m air pistol competition. Its qualification round will begin at 3:00 pm IST (11:30 am local time), with the final set for 5:45 pm IST (2:15 pm local time).
India will have six shooters in the women’s 10m air rifle event, led by Asian junior record holder and 2025 ISSF World Cup Suhl champion Shambhavi Kshirsagar. The line-up also includes 50m rifle three positions 2025 Asian champion Anushka Thakur, 2026 Asian Championships silver and bronze medallists Manya Singh and Anisha Sharma, 2024 Asian Championships bronze medallist Anvi Rathore and Panah Bhugar.
India will also have six shooters in the men’s 10m air pistol event, led by former junior world champion and 2023 World Championships gold medallist Shiva Narwal, who is returning to international competition after three years.
He will be joined by Deaflympics 2025 champion Abhinav Deswal, Abhinav Chaudhary, Abhay Dhama, Himanshu Rana and 17-year-old Chirag Sharma.
A maximum of three shooters from each country will qualify for the final after the qualification round, with the top three places advancing.
In the 25m pistol events, Samir Gulia is one of India’s leading names, having won medals at the world and junior world championships. In the men’s section, Abhinav Chaudhary, Sahil Chaudhary, Sagnik Banerjee, Pranshu Suryavanshi and Bhanu Pratap Singh Shekhawat will compete, while in the women’s section, Parisha Gupta, Anjali Mahendra Bhagwat, Agam Kaur Grewal, Manvi Jain, Sejal Kamble and Shikha Chaudhary will be in action.
In skeet, India will be represented by five men and four women. The men’s team includes Zorawar Singh Bedi, Harviraj Singh, Ishan Singh Libra, Yashvardhan Singh Rajawat and Anjanaiya Singh Mandwa, while the women’s team features Risham Kaur Ghuraan, Parmeet Kaur, Agrima Kanwar and Sanjojita Shekhawat.
A total of 284 shooters from 25 countries are competing in the event, with India fielding the largest squad. Host Egypt has entered a 29-member team, while Russia, competing under the banner of Individual Neutral Athletes, has sent 43 shooters. France (24), Great Britain (16) and Italy (13) are also participating with sizeable squads.
With the Junior World Championships scheduled for June in Suhl, Germany, this tournament offers Indian junior shooters an important opportunity to make their mark.
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Hindusthan Samachar / Jun Sarkar
