Why shooting isn’t a fan sport in India
The Surajkund Crafts Mela gets millions but the Karni Singh shooting range, a few hundred metres away, not even a handful. Some of the biggest shooting stars will be in town for the World Cup but there is hardly any buzz. The event certainly will be organised in a professional manner but what’s a sporting event without spectators. The event could have done with a bit of marketing.
While it is unfair to compare the shooting World Cup with oneday cricket, but look at sports like kabaddi and wrestling and how well they are being marketed. Shooting world cups are like Grand Slams in tennis and should draw sizable audience.
Two years ago, the spectator stands were empty when the event was held at Karni Ranges. There was hardly anyone to clap for legendary shooters and Olympic champions. I hope things are better this time around. Much could have been done to promote the event. The Ranges also needs to be public-friendly and open their gates for people to come and watch the stars in action. Most are not sure whether they will be allowed entry. The Karni Ranges have never been welcoming to non-members even during competitions and flow of people is regulated citing security concerns.
Tickets for sporting events are an important factor to draw public attention. But I have not seen any online platform selling tickets for shooting World Cup. Thousands would have crossed the Karni Ranges on way to the Surajkund Mela and a few hoardings would have attracted eyeballs.
Even though the international shooting federation, ISSF, has roped in a broadcast partner, I am not sure it will increase TV audience. To make shooting exciting on TV, the ISSF should think from the perspective of TV audience. While watching the finals in shooting, people don’t understand what’s going on. To make matters worse, there are different formats for different events. Also, there is no uniformity in the number of finalists. In 10m events, there are eight finalists, while in rapid-fire pistol and shotgun there are six. This confuses audience. Uniformity is important for a sport to be TV-friendly.