Four junior shooters in C’weath Games team
NEWDELHI: Touted as the first step in the seamless journey from school to Olympic Games, the inaugural Khelo India School Games (KISG) will kick off here on Wednesday with the finals of six various disciplines to be held in the morning followed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi declaring the tournament open in the evening.
The best from these Games to be held across five different venues in the Capital, will be identified, helped and nurtured into an India prospect for international games at the highest level and hopefully continue in the tradition of the likes of Milkha Singh, Gurbachan Singh, Sri Ram Singh, PT Usha, Anju Bobby George and others.
The six finals apart, there will be the heats for the 100m, which will feature the teen sprint sensation Nisar Ahmed from the host state Delhi. Nisar, the current national champion, who trains at the Chhatrasal Stadium, will face a stiff challenge from teammate Badal Shaukeen.
Two other future prospects will be in action when Anu Kumar of Uttarakhand is expected to be the star performer in the 1500m final alongside teammate Bharat Verma. NEW DELHI: Four talented junior shooters have made the cut for the Commonwealth Games to be held in Gold Coast from April 4. Teenage pistol shooters Anish Bhanwala (Haryana) and Manu Bhaker (Haryana) and rifle shooters Mehuli Ghosh (Bengal) and Anjum Moudgil (Punjab) have been included in the 27-member shooting squad for the quadrennial games.
Bhanwala, a Class XI student, stamped his authority in 25m rapid fire during the National Championship in December and the selection trials held recently at the Karni Singh Ranges. The 16-year-old is currently India’s No 1 in rapid fire and No 2 in standard.
In the past six months, national youth and junior champion in air rifle Mehuli has been on target in almost all competitions and the 17-year-old’s inclusion hasn’t come as a surprise.
Gold-medallist at the National Championships at Thiruvananthapuram in December, rifle shooter Anjum Moudgil bagged the top spot in both 50m prone and 50m 3-position and she will be expected to repeat her performance in Gold Coast, while Manu Bhaker, who beat Heena Sidhu in 10m air pistol during the Nationals, too will be boarding the flight to Gold Coast.
The Gold Coast CWG organising committee has reduced the shooting quota from 30 to 27 from the previous CWG in Glasgow, because of which the National Rifle Association of India (NRAI) has picked 12 women and 15 male shooters. While there are some events in pistol and rifle where names are overlapping, in shotgun, the top two in each of the three events --- trap, double trap and skeet--- were included.
“Since there are several (pistol and rifle) shooters doing multiple events, the selection panel deliberate on the utility shooters,” said an NRAI official. Army shooter and 2014 Asian Games gold-medallist Jitu Rai, who is good in both air pistol and 50m free pistol, will compete in both events. Similarly, pistol shooter Heena Sidhu will compete in air pistol and 25m sports pistol.