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New Delhi, A first batch of 40 Indian shooters and support staff will leave for the blue-riband event of the junior international shooting calendar, the ISSF World Cup, in Suhl, Germany, on Saturday.
The official arrivals are scheduled for May 19 while competitions begin from May 20 and will conclude on May 26.
India, who finished on top in two of the three ISSF junior events last year, have fielded the largest contingent of 57 shooters, who will be accompanied by 21 officials, including coaches and support staff.
A second batch of 38 members will leave for Germany on Sunday.
Suhl, a small city with around 40,000 residents right in the centre of Germany, has long been the driving force of the junior international shooting circuit and attracts the best of the future stars in the sport.
Many Olympic and world champions have been unearthed in Suhl. After an absence in the Olympic year last year, the Suhl junior world cup is back with a bang attracting over 630 athletes from 59 countries, including all the strong nations of the sport.
The 50m rifle prone event for junior men and women kicks off the competitions on day one. The trap mixed team final will be the last medal event of the tournament.
Olympian Raiza Dhillon and mixed team trap bronze medallist in the recently concluded Nicosia Shotgun World Cup, Sabeera Harris, will be among the most prominent names in the strong Indian side.
Others include Naamya Kapoor, who was a junior world champion at 13, reigning double junior world champion Divanshi , reigning junior world champion in the 25m pistol Mukesh Nellavalli, Asian junior champion Harmehar Lally and multiple junior ISSF medallists Shubham Bisla and Abhinav Chaudhary , among others.
India had emerged on top of the last Suhl Junior World Cup in 2023 with six gold, six silver and three bronze medals.
One of the coaches leaving on Saturday, double Olympian and multiple-time ISSF medallist Sanjeev Rajput, spoke about the squad’s preparations.
“The entire squad has been training very hard at the national camp and it is good that some of them are now seniors in the junior circuit.
“Their experience will help those who are making their first trip to such a big tournament and imposing venue. The youngsters are otherwise excited and raring to go,” he said.
A total of 36 shooters are going on government costs while 21 will go at their own cost.
Each country can have only three shooters contending for a medal in an event while two teams each are allowed in mixed team competitions. The others will shoot for ranking points only.
This article was generated from an automated news agency feed without modifications to text.
