ISSF World Cup: Indian shooters to look out for

The first-ever combined ISSF World Cup of 2021 is going to commence in New Delhi on the 18th of March. Indian shooters will be competing at their home ground, Dr. Karni Singh Shooting Range, New Delhi.

India has announced its 57-member squad for the World Cup. All 15 Olympic-bound Indian shooters will be competing at the event. From young talents to experienced veterans, the Indian shooters will showcase their talents at the World Cup.

Here's a look at the top Indian shooters performing at the ISSF World Cup category wise:

Indian Rifle shooters at ISSF World Cup

In the 10m air rifle men's team we have two Olympic-bound shooters, Divyansh Singh Panwar and Deepak Kumar. India is currently leading this category with Divyansh in the world's top position. In the 2019 ISSF World Cup, Divyansh won two individual medals.

Hungarian shooter Istvan Peni, who currently holds the third ranking, will also be competing at the event. China and Russia also have a stronghold in this category, however, they are skipping the World Cup.

A strong trio of Anjum Moudgil, Apurvi Chandela and Elavenil Valarivan will be competing in the 10m air rifle women's team. Indian women dominate the world rankings with Elavenil currently leading with the first rank, Anjum is on the fourth rank and Apurvi is at the seventh rank.

Apurvi and Anjum have already won the Olympic quota in the category. South Korea also has a good shooting contingent in this event. However, the women rifle shooters have shown very consistent performances over the years.

In the 50m Rifle 3 position category, two Olympic-bound shooters will be participating. Olympians Sanjeev Rajput and Aishwary Pratap Singh will be representing India in this category.

Two-time Olympian Sanjeev currently holds the world's sixth position in the category. Aishwary will be participating in both the 50m and 10m rifle events. In the women's category, Olympic-bound shooters Tejaswini Sawant and Anjum Moudgil along with Sunidhi Chauhan will be competing.

Indian Pistol shooters at ISSF World Cup

In the 10m air pistol category, India has a terrific set of shooters.

Currently, world second-ranked Abhishek Verma and fourth-ranked Saurabh Chaudhary will be competing in the men's category. While world ranked number two Manu Bhaker and fourth-ranked Yashaswini Singh will be competing in the women's category.

All four shooters have won Olympic quotas. They have gained the international spotlight with their consistent medal-winning performances. The whole world is eagerly waiting for the pistol shooters to perform as these four are potential medal winners for the nation.

The other two leading countries in the top 5 are Russia and China who would be skipping the event, creating possibilities for Korean shooters to level up in the top 5.

Air Pistol shooters Manu Bhaker and Abhishek Verma at ISSF World Cup

In the 25m sports pistol women, category two Olympic-bound shooters Chinki Yadav and Rahi Sarnobat will be competing. Manu Bhaker will also be joining this team for the World Cup. The trio will also be participating in the team event and will hopefully hit the top positions.

India is yet to gain an Olympic berth in the 25m Rapid Fire Pistol Men's category. Young 25m shooter Anish Bhanwala is a potential Olympic berth winner for India in this category at the ISSF World Cup.

China and Germany hold the majority of the top 10 positions in this category, but as they won't be competing it might work out positively for the Indian shooters.

Indian Shotgun shooters at ISSF World Cup

Olympic-bound shooters Angadvir Singh Bajwa and Mairaj Ahmed Khan will be competing in the Skeet men's category.

The Indian Skeet men's team won the bronze medal at the ISSF Shotgun World Cup in February. However, the Indian skeet women's team finished in fourth position. The same skeet team will be playing in New Delhi and will again be aiming for the title.

India is yet to qualify for the Tokyo Olympics in the trap event. Indian women's trap shooters, however, gave a kick-start to 2021, by grabbing the silver medal at the Shotgun World Cup in February.

Mixed Events at ISSF World Cup

Two new mixed events will be played at the ISSF World Cup in New Delhi - 25m Rapid Fire pistol and 50m rifle - 3 positions. India aced in the 10m air rifle and pistol mixed events in the 2019 ISSF World Cups.