Today marks the commencement of the opening Asian Rifle and Pistol Shooting Championship at the Dr. Karni Singh Shooting Ranges which brings back India’s top shooters to compete. The 118-member Indian team will participate in the 10-day competition period to assess their athletic abilities which they need for their future Olympic participation between 2026 and 2028.

Athletes use the championship to practice their technical skills under pressure while assessing their capacity to compete.

Manu Bhaker Leads a Powerhouse Squad
The spotlight remains firmly on double Olympic medallist Manu Bhaker. Bhaker established herself as a major attraction after she achieved her groundbreaking victory in Paris which enables her to compete in both the 10m Air Pistol and 25m Pistol events. She is joined by other top-tier talent, including:

Esha Singh: A consistent finalist on the world stage, expected to challenge for the podium in the pistol categories.

Elavenil Valarivan: The world bronze medallist and defending champion, who remains India’s strongest prospect in the 10m Air Rifle.

Samrat Rana & Varun Tomar: The world champion and world No. 2, respectively, leading a formidable men’s pistol line-up.

Testing Under Pressure: Babuta and Patil
Arjun Babuta who stands as a top marksman concentrates on technical matters. Babuta who participated in an extensive training session mentioned that he will utilize this competition to evaluate his “new technical changes on match pressure situations.”

Rudrankksh Patil a former world champion wants to achieve consistent results. “The lowest scores I’ve been shooting are decent, but I want to improve that floor,” Patil said, emphasizing that hitting high scores consistently is his primary objective for the season opener.

A Home Advantage
India aims to achieve victory on its home ground by sending out the biggest team from any country. The NRAI announced that New Delhi won the bid to host the 2027 Asian Championship which will deliver eight Olympic quota spots to the LA 2028 Olympics.

The Men’s and Women’s 10m Air Pistol events will begin the competition with their main finals.