New Delhi: A six-member Indian men’s and women’s skeet shooting squad will take first aim, as the international season’s fourth and final International Shooting Sport Federation (ISSF) World Cup Shotgun stage, gets set to be held at one of the sport’s traditional amphitheaters, the Trap Concaverde in Lonato, Italy.
While the Skeet squad have already reached the Italian town, a further six members of the Trap team are expected to arrive on July 5.
The qualifying rounds of the men’s and women’s skeet competition will begin on Sunday (July 6) with both the finals scheduled for Tuesday (July 8).
Indian hopes will lie with Olympians Mairaj Ahmad Khan, Angad Vir Singh Bajwa and Anantjeet Singh Naruka in the men’s skeet, while the women also have two Olympians-Maheshwari Chauhan and Raiza Dhillon, amongst their ranks, besides the accomplished Ganemat Sekhon.
Former Asian Games silver medalist Lakshay Sheoran will lead India’s challenge in men’s trap alongside veteran Zoravar Singh Sandhu and the upcoming Jaswinder Singh. Neeru, Preeti Rajak and Pragati Dubey, represent India in women’s trap.
In the mixed team trap, where India’s sole Shotgun world cup medal of the year was won in Nicosia, Lakshay & Neeru and Zoravar & Preeti are paired together.
The skeet team has already begun acclimatization training under the guidance of coach Vikram Chopra, with official pre-event training scheduled for Saturday.
“The squad has settled down well and training in right earnest,” said Chopra from Lonato.
“We even went out to celebrate Anant’s birthday on Tuesday and it was brilliant from a bonding perspective as well. This will be the last world cup stage before the World Championships in Athens and it is important that things start falling into place at the right time,” he concluded.
Lonato generally attracts the largest contingent of shotgun shooters in a world cup and this year too, as many as 551 athletes from 73 nations will compete.
