Focus shifts to trap events as India renew medal hunt

Athens, Oct 14 (PTI) Indian shooters will renew their medal hunt in the ISSF World Cup for Shotgun when the skeet events' qualifications begin here on Wednesday with six contestants from the country in fray.

Neeru Dhanda, Aashima Ahlawat, and Kirti Gupta in women's category and Zoravar Singh Sandhu, Vivaan Kapoor, and Bhowneesh Mendiratta in men's trap will take to the Malakasa Shooting Range for the first 50 targets of the qualification round.

The women's trap event promises a competitive line-up, led by defending world champion Lin Yi-Chun of Chinese Taipei.

The 80-athlete field also includes world No 1 Lada Denisova, world No 2 Silvana Stanco, world No 3 Alessandra Perilli, and world No 4 Carey Jeana Garrison. Other leading names include Paris Olympic champion Adriana Ruano.

Leading India's charge will be Asian champion and world No 8 Dhanda, who has been in consistent form this season with a fourth-place finish at the Lonato World Cup and a top-six performance in the Buenos Aires mixed team event.

She will be joined by Ahlawat, an Asian championship bronze medallist, and Gupta, who completes the Indian women's trio.

In the men's section, veteran Sandhu, currently ranked world No 12, will spearhead the Indian challenge alongside former junior world champion Kapoor and Mendiratta, who claimed silver at the Asian Championship in Kazakhstan.

The men's trap event will see participation from 141 athletes, including reigning world champion Giovanni Cernogoraz of Croatia, who will be joined by his 2023 podium companions Marián Kovačócy of Slovakia and Khaled Al-Mudhaf of Kuwait.

Paris Olympic gold medallist Nathan Hales of Great Britain and bronze medallist Jean Pierre Brol of Guatemala (world No 4) are also among the top guns in a stacked field.

The competition will also feature top-ranked shooters, including world No 1 Mauro De Filippis (Italy), William Hinton (USA, world No 2), Walton Eller (USA, world No 3), and Giovanni Pellielo (Italy, world No 5), ensuring a high-calibre battle for the podium.

The trap qualification rounds will begin on Wednesday with 50 targets each for men and women, followed by another 50 on Thursday, and a final 25 on Friday.

After 125 targets in qualification, the top six from each category will move to the finals for World Championship medals. PTI AH AH DDV