All eyes on Chaudhary as India begin WC campaign

Buenos Aires, April 2: Comeback man Saurabh Chaudhary will be the cynosure of all eyes in the Indian shooting contingent as it begins its campaign in the ISSF World Cup with the men’s 10m pistol and skeet competitions here on Thursday.
Taking aim first up alongside men’s pistol will be be the shooters in men’s and women’s skeet events at the Tiro Federal Argentino de Buenos Aires Shooting Range.
Day one of competitions will also see the first of 15 finals with a top-class men’s 10m air pistol field including three Indians – Chaudhary, Ravinder Singh and Varun Tomar – looking to give their respective countries a golden start in the year’s first ISSF World Cup.
The men’s and women’s skeet competitions meanwhile will have only the first two qualifying rounds comprising 25 targets each played out on day one.
Over 400 shooters, including a galaxy of reigning and former Olympic and world champions from as many as 45 countries, will compete for 15 gold medals on offer, looking to begin the year on a high.
This includes a block of 23 athletes who will be participating as Individual Neutral Athletes (AIN).
The ISSF World Cup stages, after the Olympics and the World Championships, are the highest level of competition in the sport.
The National Rifle Association of India (NRAI) had announced a 35-member team for the Argentina World Cup with double Olympic bronze medallist Manu Bhaker competing in two individual and one mixed team event.
Nine of the 35 shooters will be in action on Thursday.
The first final
The men’s air pistol field is 40-strong and is probably the only one having all three 2024 Paris Games medallists slated to start in China’s Olympic champion Xie Yu and Italians Federico Maldini and Paolo Monna who won silver and bronze respectively.
If that is not competition enough for the Indian trio led by the mercurial Chaudhary, who is on an international comeback trail, the likes of former Olympic champion Christian Reitz of Germany, Serbian legend Damir Mikec, Brazil’s Olympic medallist Filipe Almeida Wu and the consistent Kazakh Nikita Chiryukin, make the field one of the toughest in recent years.
Indian coach Samaresh Jung was confident of the performance of his wards saying, “They have been competing and training hard throughout the year, not only in our camps and after reaching here. Some of the boys also had a fun workout competing in some local matches that were organised between South American nations who had arrived early.
“They know what is expected of them and we are confident of a good showing. At this level the field is always strong.”
Skeet shooters look to start well
In skeet, India has a relatively young and talented squad at the peak of their powers and a good showing can be expected.
The women’s squad has Olympian Raiza Dhillon, Indian number one and national record holder Ganemat Sekhon and Darshna Rathore, all individual medallists at this level.
Paris Olympian Anantjeet Singh Naruka will be at the forefront of the men’s challenge along with the talented Bhavtegh Gill in his rookie senior year. Gurjoat Khangura will lend experience to the trio.
Coach Amrinder Singh Cheema said, “It’s been five days of training here and we had to overcome jet lag as well. The conditions are challenging but the same for everyone and a good day one will hopefully bring out the best in our shooters.”
Double Olympic champion Gabriele Rossetti will be the favourite in the men’s skeet while American legend Kimberly Rhode will lead a usually strong US squad in the women’s event.
Chile’s reigning Olympic champion Francisco Crovetto Chadid is also listed to start in the women’s skeet event. (PTI)