Commonwealth Games 2018: Indian shooters to stake their claim for gold from 8 April

The past 2 years haven't gone down very well with the Indian shooters. For the first time since Sydney 2000, the Indian shooting contingent had to return empty-handed. Even Abhinav Bindra, who shot his way to a historic gold at Beijing 2008, fell tragically short of a podium finish after a shoot-off between him and Ukranian shooter Serhiy Kulish, who later went on to clinch the silver medal.

However, having put the past behind them, the shooting contingent is now up in arms, raring to go in the upcoming Gold Coast Commonwealth Games 2018. With a rich haul of 4 gold, 1 silver and 4 bronze medals at the ISSF World Cup, recently held at Guadalajara, Mexico, the Indian shooting team are all set for the first major challenge in the run-up to Tokyo Olympics, i.e. the shooting event at the Gold Coast Commonwealth Games 2018, which would begin from the 8th of April at the Belmont Shooting Centre, Brisbane.

Venue:-

The venue for the shooting event is the Belmont Shooting Centre in Brisbane, approximately 78 kms. away from the actual site of the Commonwealth Games, i.e. the Gold Coast City.

Belmont Shooting Centre: The venue for the CWG 2018 shooting events

Competition Format:-

As per the schedule laid out by the Commonwealth Games 2018 organizing committee, the shooting events will comprise the qualification events, where the shooters will have to give their best in order to make the cut for the medal finals. The current edition will possibly be the last edition to host the following shooting events:-

1. 50 m. rifle prone
2. 50 m. pistol
3. Double Trap

The reason behind this is the exclusion of the above-mentioned events from the upcoming Tokyo Olympics 2020, in order to make room for inclusive gender participation in the shooting events.

Following is the schedule of the respective shooting events to be held from 8 to 14 April:-

1. 8 April:- Qualification and Medal Finals for Women's 10 m. Air Pistol, Women's Skeet and Men's 10 m. Air Rifle
2. 9 April:- Qualification and Medal Finals for Women's 10 m. Air Rifle, Men's 10 m. Air Pistol and Men's Skeet
3. 10 April:- Qualification and Medal Finals for Women's 25 m. pistol, Queen's Prize Pairs and Men's 50 m. Rifle Prone
4. 11 April:- Qualification and Medal Finals for Women's Double Trap, Men's 50 m. pistol and Men's Double Trap
5. 12 April:- Qualification and Medal Finals for Women's 50 m. Rifle Prone
6. 13 April:- Qualification and Medal Finals for Women's 50 m. Rifle 3 Positions, Women's Trap and Men's 25 m. Rapid Fire Pistol
7. 14 April:- Men's 50 m. Rifle 3 Positions, Men's Trap & Queen's Prize Individual

Indian men's shooting team: Time to pull up their socks

Shooting at CWG 2018: Can Jitu maintain his golden run?

For the male contingent of the Indian shooting team, which includes a total of 15 shooters [7 air gun and pistol shooters and 8 shotgun shooters], the upcoming Commonwealth Games 2018 is an opportunity for them to pull up their socks and make a mark.

Deepak Kumar and Ravi Kumar will open the account for India, as they take part in the Men's Air Rifle event, to be held on 8 April. The two shooters will aim to follow in the footsteps of their idols, Abhinav Bindra and Gagan Narang, who are not taking part in this event for the first time since Manchester CWG 2002.

Following them will be Smit Singh and Shiraz Sheikh, who will be spearheading the Indian challenge in the men's skeet, along with Army shooters Jitu Rai and Om Prakash, who are competing in the Men's 10 m. air pistol event, to be held on the same day as Men's Skeet, i.e. 9th of April. Jitu, who had narrowly missed the podium in the same event at Rio, will be aiming to redeem himself and maintain the golden run he has had since ISSF World Cup 2017.

10th of April will see rifle shooters Chain Singh and Gagan Narang in action in the Men's 50 m. rifle prone event. For Gagan, who has had a forgettable run since 2015, this is the last chance to redeem himself if he wants to be considered for the Tokyo Olympics.

Jitu Rai and Om Prakash will be back in action for the Men's 50 m. pistol, followed by Ankur Mittal and Mohammad Asab, who will represent India in the men's double trap event.

Next up, on 13th of April, will be Anish Bhanwala and Neeraj Kumar, who are representing India at the Men's 25 m. rapid fire pistol. They will be followed by Kynan Chenai and Manavjit Singh Sindhu, who will compete in the Men's Trap event to be held on the final day, i.e. 14 April.

Indian women's shooting team: Time to capitalize on the success of World Cup

Shooting at CWG 2018: Time for Manu

Bhaker

to capitalize on her World Cup Success

Compared to their male compatriots, the female shooters have led the charge in both the ISSF World Cups, held in 2017 and 2018.

First up will be star shooters Heena Sidhu and Manu Bhaker, who will open India's account in the Women's 10 m. air pistol event to be held on 8 April. This event will also serve as brilliant warm-up for Manu, who will also represent India in the upcoming Youth Olympics to be held in Buenos Aires, Argentina during early October.

They will be followed by Saniya Shaikh and Maheshwari Chauhan, representing India in the women's skeet competition.

Next in the fray will be rifle shooters Apurvi Chandela and Mehuli Ghosh, who will be representing India in women's 10 m. air rifle competition to be held on 9 April. Apurvi, who couldn't impress at the Rio Olympics, will be looking to start from the scratch, while Mehuli, who has also made the cut for the Youth Olympics, will be aiming to make a mark for herself here.

10th April will see Heena Sidhu once again in action, along with Annu Raj Singh in women's 25 m. pistol event. They will be followed by Shreyasi Singh and Varsha Varman, who will be competing in the Women's Double Trap event the following day, i.e. 11 April.

Next up for a shot at the podium will be rifle shooters Anjum Moudgil and veteran shooter Tejaswini Sawant, who will be competing in both Women's 50 m. rifle prone and 50 m. rifle 3 positions, to be held on successive days, i.e. 12 and 13 April.

They will be followed once again by Shreyasi Singh, accompanied by Seema Tomar in the women's trap section, which would be held on 13th of April.

Following is the list of the Indian shooting contingent who will compete at the Gold Coast CWG 2018 :-

Indian men's shooting team :-

Deepak Kumar and Ravi Kumar [Men's 10 m. Air Rifle], Jitu Rai & Om Prakash [Men's 10 m. Air Pistol and Men's 50 m. Pistol], Sanjeev Rajput and Chain Singh [Men's 50m. Rifle 3 Positions], Chain Singh and Gagan Narang [Men's 50 m. Rifle Prone], Smit Singh and Shiraz Sheikh [Men's Skeet], Anish Bhanwala and Neeraj Kumar [Men's 25 m. rapid fire pistol], Mohammad Asab and Ankur Mittal [Men's Double Trap], Kynan Chenai and Manavjit Singh Sandhu [Men's Trap]

Indian women's shooting team:-

Apurvi Chandela & Mehuli Ghosh [Women's 10 m. Air Rifle], Heena Sidhu & Manu Bhaker [Women's 10 m. Air Pistol], Anjum Moudgil and Tejaswini Sawant [Women's 50 m. Rifle Prone and Women's 50 m. Rifle 3 Positions], Saniya Shaikh and Maheshwari Chauhan [Women's Skeet], Heena Sidhu & Annu Raj Singh [Women's 25 m. pistol], Shreyasi Singh and Varsha Varman [Women's Double Trap], Shreyasi Singh and Seema Tomar [Women's Trap]