Air rifle shooters set to begin India''s campaign in ISSF World Championships

Cairo, Nov 7 (PTI) Former world champion Rudrankksh Patil will look to recreate the magic which saw him become world champion here in 2022 when the prestigious ISSF World Championships return to the Egyptian capital on Saturday.

It will be a homecoming of sorts for the charismatic 21-year-old former world No.1 10m air rifle shooter to his favourite range, where he has won the most number of titles and accolades, dating back to the time when he was a teenager.

Three years after he beat a top-notch field to become only the second Indian after Abhinav Bindra in 2006 to emerge world champion in 10m air rifle, Rudrankksh will hope to kickstart his campaign for LA2028 Olympics qualification with a podium finish here.

He will go first up on day one of the competition along with Olympian Arjun Babuta and Vishal Singh, who are also serious contenders.

Rudrankksh and Babuta have been in medal-winning form this year, with the former clinching an individual gold medal at the Buenos Aires World Cup and the latter winning silver in Lima.

They will, however, have their task cut out in a 110-strong field, which has the likes of reigning world record holder and Olympic champion Sheng Lihao of China, who had won bronze here three years back.

There will also be challenges for the women's 10m air rifle trio of Olympian Elavenil Valarivan, Meghana Sajjanar and Shreya Agrawal, with each of the three striving for podium finishes on Saturday.

Both Elavenil and Meghana have done well in international competitions this year, picking up individual World Cup medals. But in a field which will have Olympic champion Ban Hyojin of Korea, besides two sensational Chinese teenagers in Wang Zifei and Peng Xinlu among others, the three Indians will have to be at their best in the qualification round to have a shot at the medals.

Rifle coach Deepali Deshpande said the team has trained well and is eager to put up a good show here.

"We came well in time and settled down and have trained hard not only over the past couple of days, but also at the camp back home last month. The shooters have also had a refreshing break from competition, are eager to get back to the grind and we are a confident of a good showing. Weather has also been very good so far," the former international shooter said in a National Rifle Association of India release.

The day will also see Olympian Anish Bhanwala, Adarsh Singh and Sameer go through the first qualification round in men's 25m rapid-fire pistol event.

The event will also serve as the last chance for shooters looking to qualify for the season-ending ISSF World Cup Finals, scheduled in Doha in the first week of December. As many as nine Indians have already made the cut for the elite event.

Cairo is a happy hunting ground for India, with its contingents topping the standings in each of the two previous World Cups held in the last two years.

India have fielded a 40-strong squad in 17 events, including all the 10 Olympic events on the roster.

A total of 720 athletes from 71 member federations will be competing over 10 days. PTI AM AM DDV