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The National Rifle Association of India has picked a 30-member squad for this years Commonwealth Games (CWG). In the last edition of the CWG, Indian shooters won 14 gold, 11 silver and five bronze medals. Shooting alone contributed 30 out of the 101 medals won by the Indian team, but this time the shooting medal events have dropped considerably from 44 in 2010 to just 19 in 2014.The 20th edition of the Commonwealth Games will not feature any shooting 'pairs' event. There will not be any competition in the centre fire and standard pistol events (singles and pairs) too.But, Indian shooters have a bright chance of winning good number of medals at the Glasgow games.Lets take a look at the medal prospects for India in shooting.
#7 Vijay Kumar
Vijay Kumar, a 28 year old rapid fire shooter from Hamirpur,Himachal Pradesh who made the country proud by winning the silver medal at the 2012 London Olympics will be a key player for the country at the CWG 2014.
Vijay Kumar,who won 3 Gold and 1 silver medal at the Delhi CWG has been in decent form in the past few months, but he needs to be a little more consistent if he wants to achieve the same feat in Glasgow.
Recent form :-
Finished 9th among 50 shooters with a score of 582 at the ISSF World Cup held in Slovenia.
Finished 22nd among 59 shooters with a score of 574 at the Germany World Cup.
Finished 19th among 30 shooters with a score of 573 at ISSF World Cup held in Fort Benning,USA from 26th March to 3rd April.
Kumar, also a Subedar major in Indian army has a great chance of grabbing a medal for India.
#6 Gagan Narang
Gagan Narang, who won the bronze medal at 2012 London Olympics in the 10m Air Rifle Category will lead the Indian shooting contingent in two events; 50m rifle 3 Position and 50m Rifle Prone.
Narang unfortunately failed to make the cut in the Air Rifle category.Winning 2 individual golds and two pair golds at the Delhi CWG, Narang will be a sureshot medal contender at the Glasgow CWG.
Recent form :-
50m Rifle Prone- Finished 36th out of 52 shooters with a total of 619.1 at Slovenia World Cup.
Finished 12th out of 70 shooters with a total of 625.1 at Germany World Cup.
Qualified for the finals;finished 4th out of 60 shooters with a total of 627.8 in the qualifying round and 5th with a score of 143.9 in the finals at Fort Benning World cup.
This 31 year Old shooter has excellent chance of winning the Gold medal for the country.
#5 Manavjit Singh Sandhu
3 time Olympian and a former World No. 1, Manavjit Singh Sandhu will represent India in Trap shooting along with Mansher Singh. Ranked 8th in the World, Sandhu will be eyering for a podium finish at the 2014 Commonwealth Games.
Recent form :-
Finished 84th out of 133 shooters with a score of 118 at ISSF World Cup in Germany.
Won the gold medal at ISSF Shotgun World Cup in Tucson,USA by scoring 121 in the qualifying round and 13 in the final round.
#4 Sanjeev Rajput
33 year old Arjuna Awardee Indian shooter, Sanjeev Rajput will spearhead India’s challenge in 50m Rifle 3 position event.
Recent form :-
Finished 14th out of 70 shooters with a score of 1172 at Germany World Cup.
Qualified for the finals;finished 8th out of 61 shooters with a score of 1166 in the qualifying round and 5th with a score of 422.9 in the final at Fort Benning World Cup.
Finished 26th out of 50 shooters with 1160 points at Slovenia World Cup.
His form in the Commonwealth Games will be crucial for India.
#3 Ayonika Paul
Ayonika Paul, a 21 year old shooter, who is currently ranked 8th in women’s 10m Air Rifle category is one of the best future prospects for the country in this sport.
Recent form :-
Won the bronze medal at Slovenia World Cup,she finished at 3rd position out of 108 shooters in the qualifying round by scoring 417.3 points. She went onto score 185.3 points in the finals to grab the third spot.
Qualified for the finals;finished 6th in the qualifying round with a score of 417, and then scored 122.9 in the final to finish at the sixth spot at Fort Benning World Cup.
Ayonika is one of the top medal contenders for the nation at the Glasgow Commonwealth Games.
#2 Heena Sidhu
Heena Sidhu, who became the first Indian Pistol shooter to be Ranked World No.1 in April 2014 is currently World No. 4 in women’s 10m Air Pistol category.
Heena Sidhu holds the World record of scoring the maximum points (203.8) in the finals of 10m Air Pistol event.
Recent form :-
Finished 11th out of 122 shooters by scoring 383 points in the qualifying round at Germany World Cup.
Won the silver medal after losing to Bulgaria’s Antoaneta Boneva in the final round of Fort Benning World Cup.
Won the gold medal at 7th Asian Championships held in Kuwait City from 7th March to 13th March.
In the absence of top Chinese shooters, Heena is expected to win the yellow metal for the nation.
#1 Jitu Rai
Jitu Rai, who is currently the World No. 1 in men’s 10m Air Pistol category and World No. 4 in 50m pistol category will represent the nation in the upcoming CWG in 50m pistol category.
Rai, a 27-year-old Army marksman is in sublime form over the past few months as he has won three World Cup medals this year.
Recent form :-
Won the gold medal at Slovenia World Cup in 10m Air Pistol event by scoring 200.8 points in the final and 584 in the qualifying round.
Won the silver medal at Slovenia World Cup in 50m Pistol event by scoring 193.9 in the final and 568 in the qualifying round.
Won the silver medal at Germany World Cup in 10m Air Pistol event by shooting 199.4 in the finals and 583 in the qualifications.
Looking at the form in which Jitu Rai is, he is surely the best medal contender for India in Shooting at the Glasgow Commonwealth Games.
