Manu Bhaker spearheads Indian shooting squad for Asian Games

Despite finishing seventh in the 10m air pistol women’s shooting trials, Manu Bhaker has made it to the Asian Games squad for the event along with 25m Sports Pistol event. Similarly, Esha Singh has also made it to the squad in both events, Vidarsa K Vinod and Rudrankksh Patil has also made it to the 10m air rifle and 50m three positions team.

The decision to take two event specialists came after the organizers capped the maximum number of participants at 30 (15 men and 15 women) for each country. Since, shotgun shooters can’t participate in two events, NRAI decided to prefer two event specialists in rifle and pistol.

While Manu didn’t have a good show in the 10m trials, she is the Olympic bronze medallist in the 10m event while Rudrannksh, who primarily shoots in 10m event, has been producing good results in the 50m 3P since last year.

Speaking of the squad selected for the Asian Games. NRAI President Kalikesh Singh Deo said, “Selecting this team was a challenging task given the exceptional depth and quality of talent in Indian shooting today. Given the 30-athlete cap for a programme that accommodates participation across 36 event slots, the Selection Committee undertook a detailed event-wise evaluation to ensure that the final squad provides India with the strongest possible representation and the best opportunity for competitive success across disciplines.”

Shooting is one of the strongest sport for India medal wise at the Asian Games. India won a total of 22 medals including seven gold, nine silver and six bronze in the previous edition of the Asian Games to finish second behind China.

Indian Shooting squad for Asian Games

Rifle Squad:

10M Air Rifle Men: Parth Rakesh Mane, Himanshu Dhillon, Rudrankksh Balasaheb Patil; 10m Air Rifle women: Elavenil Valarivan, Sonam Uttam Maskar, Vidarsa K Vinod;

50M Rifle 3 Positions Men: Aishwary Pratap Singh Tomar, Niraj Kumar, Rudrankksh Balasaheb Patil;  50M Rifle 3 Positions Women: Ashi Chouksey, Vidarsa K Vinod, Tilottama Sen;

10M Air Rifle Mixed Team: Parth Rakesh Mane and Elavenil Valarivan; 10M Air Rifle Mixed Team: Parth Rakesh Mane, Elavenil Valarivan

Pistol Squad:

10M Air Pistol Men: Kedarling B. Uchaganve,  Gaurav, Kamaljeet; 10M Air Pistol Women: Suruchi, Esha Singh, Manu Bhaker

25M Rapid Fire Pistol Men: Anish; 25M Sports Pistol Women: Esha Singh, Manu Bhaker, Rahi Sarnobat; 10M Air Pistol Mixed Team: Kedarling B. Uchaganve and Suruchi; 10M Air Pistol Mixed Team: Kedarling B. Uchaganve,Suruchi