The ISSF World Cup 2025 in Ningbo, China, has begun, and the Indian pistol and rifle shooters are facing a challenging start. This is the fourth and final ISSF World Cup of the year for rifle and pistol shooters. The event, which runs from September 8-14, is a crucial one, offering medals and qualification spots for the World Cup Final in Doha.
India has sent a 24-member squad to Ningbo. However, some of the country's top shooters, including Olympians Manu Bhaker, Sarabjot Singh, Elavenil Valarivan, and Rudrankksh Patil, as well as three-time World Cup gold medalist Suruchi Singh, are not participating. The squad is led by Swapnil Kusale, who won a bronze medal at the Paris 2024 Olympics. Kusale will be competing in the men's 50m rifle three positions event.
On the first day of the World Cup, the Indian shooters participated in the mixed team events for rifle and pistol. Ramita Jindal, a former junior world champion and Olympian, teamed up with Umamahesh Maddineni in the air rifle mixed team event. Divyansh Singh Panwar, also an Olympian and former world number one, partnered with Meghana M. Sajjanar in the same event. In the air pistol mixed team competition, Olympian Rhythm Sangwan paired with Nishant Rawat, while Amit Sharma joined Surbhi Rao.
The Indian teams faced tough competition from some of the world's best shooters. In the air rifle mixed team event, they were up against China's Sheng Lihao, the world number one and a double Olympic gold medalist, and Peng Xinlu, a 16-year-old who recently won silver at the Asian Shooting Championship. Norway's Jeanette Hegg Duestad and Jon-Hermann Hegg, who won gold in Lima, were also strong contenders. In the mixed team pistol event, the Indian pairs faced the formidable Chinese duo of Hu Kai and Yao Qianxun, who have medaled in all three previous World Cups this year.
The new-look Indian rifle pairs are facing challenges from top shooters from other countries. According to the National Rifle Association of India, the team consists of shooters ranked between fourth and sixth nationally.
Despite the absence of some key players, the Indian shooters who have secured their place in the World Cup Final in Doha are Sift Kaur Samra, Rudrankksh Patil, Suruchi Singh and Vijayveer Sidhu. These athletes secured their spots by winning individual gold medals in previous World Cups. The Ningbo leg will determine the remaining spots via ISSF rankings.
Live streaming of the finals is available on Olympics.com in India.
