New Delhi: In a first, a record 14 Indian rifle and pistol shooters have earned the right to compete in the year-end World Cup Finals, scheduled to be held in Putian, China between November 17 and 23.
In the prestigious tournament held annually, some of the year's best shooters compete in each of the eight rifle/pistol Olympic events.
Anjum Moudgil and Manu Bhaker are the only two among the 14 to have qualified for two events.
Moudgil made the cut in both the women's 10m air rifle and women's 50m rifle 3 positions event while Bhaker qualified for the women's 10m air pistol and women's 25m pistol events.
The International Shooting Sport Federation (ISSF) World Cup finals will see the top 14 shooters take on the World Championship medallists and the defending champion in each of the events.
According to an ISSF press release, 35 nations' athletes qualified in the eight events after "entries for each event have been increased from this year to 18 for each event from 12 earlier".
All qualified athletes will also be able to take part in the mixed team events in rifle and pistol and get a shot at winning the President's Trophy.
Teen stars Bhaker and Saurabh Chaudhary staged a remarkable comeback to claim the mixed 10m air pistol gold, providing a fitting finale to India's unprecedented dominance of the medal tally in the recently-concluded ISSF World Cup in Rio de Janeiro.
The results ensured an unprecedented top finish for India across all four ISSF World Cup stages this year, including the lone junior World Cup. India's final tally in Rio stood at five gold, two silver and two bronze medals for a total of nine.
The Indian rifle and pistol shooters topped the medals tally at all four ISSF World Cup stages this year in a phenomenal performance, picking up a total of 22 medals with as many as 16 golds.
