UPSRA aims big at Tokyo Olympics

Good showing of ace shooters Jitu Rai and Mairaj Khan at the international level in recent years has prompted the Uttar Pradesh State Rifle Association (UPSRA) to plan big.

It has announced their mission to produce Olympic medal winning shooters for 2020 Tokyo Olympics. Both Rai and Khan were part of the 12-member Indian shooting squad at the just concluded Rio Olympics.

“The blue print of the UPSRA Mission Olympics is ready and a formal announcement of the same will be made very soon,” UPSRA president Shyam Singh Yadav states on Wednesday. “We have been producing Olympic level shooters over the years and as a result shooting is now a very popular sport in the state.”

Both Rai and Khan fared well and came close to winning a medal at Rio. Jitu made it to the finals of the men’s 10m air pistol, while Khan narrowly missed the cut for men’s skeet finals after a tense shoot-off. Both these shooters will be felicitated by UPSRA at the UP State Shooting Championship, scheduled to be held from September 2 to 6.

“A record breaking number over 2000 shooters have registered for the state competition this year. This shows the growing popularity of the sport in the state. We are also coming up with a training and scholarship program for our aspiring shooters” Yadav further states.

The state competition will be held in all rifle, pistol and shotgun events over the next four days at the Dr Karni Singh Shooting Range in New Delhi.

IT HAS ANNOUNCED THEIR MISSION TO PRODUCE OLYMPIC MEDAL WINNING SHOOTERS FOR 2020 TOKYO OLYMPICS