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Anjali, Rajyavardhan to lead Indian shooting challenge
Hyderbad, Oct 25: India`s chances of finishing on top in Afro-Asian Games shooting look bright with Anjali Bhagwat and Rajyavardhan Singh Rathore, who have already qualified for 2004 Athens Olympic Games, leading the hosts challenge in the event which gets off at the Hyderabad Central University campus here tomorrow.
Hyderbad, Oct 25: India's chances of finishing on top in Afro-Asian Games shooting look bright with Anjali Bhagwat and Rajyavardhan Singh Rathore, who have already qualified for 2004 Athens Olympic Games, leading the hosts challenge in the event which gets off at the Hyderabad Central University campus here tomorrow.
Anjali, who won the air rifle gold at the World Cup final in Milan earlier this month scoring 502.4 points, will be eager to get even with top shooters from China and Korea,
who have fielded top finishers at the Busan Asian Games.
Though Abhinav Bindra has pulled out, the rest of the Indians, who had settled for minor positions at the Asian Games last year, are expected to put up a good performance here.
The 34-year old Anjali is also competing in the 50m rifle 3 position. Deepali Deshpande, who missed the Olympic quota on a couple of occasions in the air pistol and sport rifle events, is competing in the 50m prone along with V Sindhu. Rathore, ranked fourth in the world in double trap, will lead the country's challenge in the clay target events. Morad Ali Khan, Rojan Sondhi and Dilbahadur Thapa are the other Indian entries in the event.
Zoravar Singh, Manavjit Singh Sandhu and Anwar Sultan from the Indian trap team while Prithiviraj Singh Bedi would be seen in action in skeet shooting.
In the men's air rifle events, Gagan Narang and Sandeep Tarte are likely to face challenge from Cai Yalin of China, a member of China's gold medal winning team at the Asian Games. Jaspal Rana will aim to recapture his touch in the 25m centrefire pistol and 25m standard pistol event but may face competition from Asian Games silver medallists Lee Sang Hak of Korea and Liu Guohui of China, who have already booked Olympic berths.
Ronak Pandit (ranked 67) would be up against Tan Zongliang of China and Guchsha Vladimir of Kazakhstan in the 10m air pistol besides competing in the 25m rapidfire pistol where he will be up against Korea's fifth ranked Lee Sang Hak and 16th ranked Ji Haiping of China.
Sushma Rana has been deprived of a medal in the women's 25m sports pistol as the event has been cancelled in view of low number of entries.
The Indian contingent has prepared well for the tournament with a 10-day camp.
The opening day of the shooting competitions will witness two finals in the men's 50m pistol and air rifle events. Bureau Report
Though Abhinav Bindra has pulled out, the rest of the Indians, who had settled for minor positions at the Asian Games last year, are expected to put up a good performance here.
The 34-year old Anjali is also competing in the 50m rifle 3 position. Deepali Deshpande, who missed the Olympic quota on a couple of occasions in the air pistol and sport rifle events, is competing in the 50m prone along with V Sindhu. Rathore, ranked fourth in the world in double trap, will lead the country's challenge in the clay target events. Morad Ali Khan, Rojan Sondhi and Dilbahadur Thapa are the other Indian entries in the event.
Zoravar Singh, Manavjit Singh Sandhu and Anwar Sultan from the Indian trap team while Prithiviraj Singh Bedi would be seen in action in skeet shooting.
In the men's air rifle events, Gagan Narang and Sandeep Tarte are likely to face challenge from Cai Yalin of China, a member of China's gold medal winning team at the Asian Games. Jaspal Rana will aim to recapture his touch in the 25m centrefire pistol and 25m standard pistol event but may face competition from Asian Games silver medallists Lee Sang Hak of Korea and Liu Guohui of China, who have already booked Olympic berths.
Ronak Pandit (ranked 67) would be up against Tan Zongliang of China and Guchsha Vladimir of Kazakhstan in the 10m air pistol besides competing in the 25m rapidfire pistol where he will be up against Korea's fifth ranked Lee Sang Hak and 16th ranked Ji Haiping of China.
Sushma Rana has been deprived of a medal in the women's 25m sports pistol as the event has been cancelled in view of low number of entries.
The Indian contingent has prepared well for the tournament with a 10-day camp.
The opening day of the shooting competitions will witness two finals in the men's 50m pistol and air rifle events. Bureau Report