On October 13 in Cario, Egypt the ISSF world championship for rifle and pistol is set to start. The senior competition will be followed after the junior competition. Recently in Osijek, the shotgun world championship concluded.
Why this event is crucial for India?
This world championship is considered to be the major for India’s rifle and pistol shooters since the Tokyo Olympics last year, which was the turning point for India as many talented Indian athletes couldn’t win a medal despite their consistency in international events.
This time the Indian squad is sporting a completely new squad. The new coaches have been recruited and many systematic changes have been seen to boost the performance at the grand stage, reducing participation in the ISSF world cup which top Indian shooters dominated in the past. These events however are a lower less competitive than the Olympics.
Where to watch the ISSF shooting championship:
The 2022 ISSF World Championships will be displayed live on the ISSF’s youtube channel.
Some important names to be missed in the event:
Sherab Chaudhary, the teenager whose consistency made him a mainstay, since his gold-winning debut at the esteemed stage Asian games, does find a place. He is the only shooter to reach the Tokyo Olympics, he is out of the squad after he couldn’t maintain his top scores through the year despite starting the year with a gold at the Cario world cup.
Experienced candidates to be displayed:
Olympians Anjum Moudgil, Manu Bhaker, Elavenil Valarivan, Aishwary Pratap Singh Tomar and Vijay Kumar are well-known shooters. The squad also to includes 2022 ISSF World Cup medal winners such as Arjun Babuta, Swapnil Kusale, Aishwary Pratap Singh Tomar, Rhythm Sangwan, and Palak.
Olympic silver medallist Vijay Kumar to compete in his biggest tournament since the London games.
Awaiting Younge shooters to watch out for:
There is Shiva Narwal, 16, leading the way in men’s 10m air pistol. He is the same age as Saurabh Chaudhary was in his debut international season, and the youngster defeated the Olympian in February’s third national selection trials.
Arjun Babuta, the 23-year-old rifle shooter who has been a stable player as a junior, has had a standout senior season with an individual and team World Cup gold at Changwon, the current world No 1 ranking and the National Games gold.
Vijayveer Sindhu [20], Yuvika Tomar [21], Rudrankksh Patil [19], and Rhythm Sangwan [18] are all youngsters who had a consistent season with a good show at the ISSF.