PUNE: The Indian shooting contingent is ready for their first international tournament after the disappointing show at the Tokyo Games last year. The National Rifle Association of India (NRAI) has announced a 24-member squad for the ISSF Cairo World Cup on Thursday, albeit without some big names. The World Cup is scheduled to be held from February 25 in the Egyptian capital.
Manu Bhaker (10m air pistol, 25m pistol), Abhishek Verma (10m air pistol), Apurvi Chandela (10m air rifle), Anjum Moudgil (10m air rifle, 50m rifle 3P), and Elavenil Valarivan are some names missing from the squad. All these shooters had participated in the Tokyo Games but couldn’t keep up with their scores in the Nationals conducted in November-December last year.
While Manu is placed fourth in both her events, Abhishek failed to figure in Top-8. Same was the case for Apurvi, Anjum and Elavenil, as they failed to enter the Top-8 bracket. Top-3 shooters from each category have been selected for the team.
Making it to the team became even more difficult for the top shooters after NRAI had to cancel the trials scheduled earlier this month, due to Covid.
The NRAI is planning to conduct the camp for the selected shooters in Delhi from February 9, however, the federation is still in the process of hiring coaches, after it fired all after the Tokyo debacle.
NRAI secretary general said coaches, few who were part of the core group for the Tokyo Games, will be asked for their services for this World Cup.
“As of now we don’t have any coach on contract, and the process to recruit new coaches will take time. Since the World Cup is breathing down our necks, we will be taking the services of a few coaches, who were part of the core group,” NRAI secretary general, Kunwar Sultan Singh, told TOI.
“We are in the process of hiring the coaches following the norms. We lost a month to Covid and hiring will not happen before the World Cup, which is only a month away,” he added.
