Former and reigning Olympic Champions in the Fray at the ISSF World Cup Finals

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New Delhi, October 22: A dozen former and reigning Olympic champions will be the star attractions, as the season ending International Shooting Sport Federation (ISSF) World Cup Final Rifle/Pistol/Shotgun gets underway at the Dr. Karni Singh Shooting Range here from Monday (October 23).

The ISSF World Cup Final (WCF) is organised every year as a conclusion of the ISSF World Cup Series and this will be the first time that India will host the annual showpiece of the international shooting sport calendar.

As many as nine champions across the 15 events from last year’s Rio 2016 Olympic games are in the fray, besides three former champions. Two among them, Greece’s 21-year old Air Pistol champion, Anna Korakaki and Germany’s Christian Reitz are also among the 11 title-defenders who will be seen in action.

They will all vie for the coveted Crystal Globes, along with the year’s top eight World Cup series performers and World Championship medalists, to grab bragging rights as the best shooter of the year.

Speaking on the occasion, Mr. Raninder Singh, President, National Rifle Association of India (NRAI), said, “ It is a great honour for the country and the NRAI, to be hosting the best in the sport of shooting in such a top class competition. We hope fans enjoy seeing their local stars compete with the very best in the world in flesh and blood. We thank the Government of India, the Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports, the Sports Authority of India and the ISSF for their constant guidance and active support in helping us host such world events. We also welcome all visiting delegates and participating Shooters to India and hope they enjoy their stay here and wish all athletes the very best.”

Hosts India have a total of 10 competitors across the three disciplines including current world number one double trap shooter Ankur Mittal and reigning Asian Games champion and former world number one men’s pistol ace Jitu Rai. Heena Sidhu, a former 2013 ISSF WCF winner in the Women’s 10M Air Pistol will be gunning for an encore, this time in the mixed team air pistol event, partnering Jitu. Ravi Kumar and Pooja Ghatkar have also qualified in the top draw for men’s and women’s 10M Air Rifle event respectively.

Three World Cup series events have concluded earlier in the year for each discipline along with the ISSF World Championship for Shotgun held in Moscow last month.

A total of 162 athletes from 45 ISSF member federations will be competing at the ISSF WCF New Delhi 2017. There will be a total of 18 finals across six competition days beginning on Tuesday (October 24) and concluding on Sunday (October 29).

For the first time in an ISSF WCF, apart from the 15 Rio Olympic disciplines, three Mixed Team medal events are also going to be held. They will be the Mixed Team 10M Air Rifle, the Mixed Team 10M Air Pistol and the Mixed Team Trap event.

Some top global stars who will be seen in action include three time Olympic Champion and Skeet Shooting legend Kimberly Rhode of the USA, Vietnam’s first ever Olympic Champion Xuan Vinh Hoang in Men’s Air Pistol, Greece’s 21-year old Pistol sensation Anna Korakaki and the USA’s 20-year old Virginia Thrasher who won the Women’s 10M Air Rifle Gold in Rio on her Olympic debut.

Besides the Olympic Champions, a galaxy of present and former World Champions and World numbers ones will also be seen in live action at the Karni Singh.

China with 26 competitors, are by far the largest squad. Among their top Shooters in fray will be Mengxue Zhang, the Rio Women’s 25M Pistol champion and Zhang Binbin, last year’s champion in the Women’s Rifle 3 Positions event. Italy, Germany and USA also have strong squads.

The ISSF WCF determines the year’s best shooter in each Olympic shooting event.

Indian Squad:

Jitu Rai (10M Pistol Men, 50M Pistol Men, Mixed team Air Pistol), Amanpreet Singh (50M Pistol Men), Pooja Ghatkar (10M Air Rifle Women), Ravi Kumar (10M Air Rifle Men), Ankur Mittal (Double Trap Men), Shapath Bharadwaj (Double Trap Men), Sangram Dahiya (Double Trap Men), Heena Sidhu (Mixed Team Air Pistol), Meghana Sajjanar (Mixed Team Air Rifle), Deepak Kumar (Mixed Team Air Rifle)

The Olympic Champions Past and Present participating:

Catherine Skinner (Australia), Rio Women’s Trap

Mengxue Zhang (China), Rio Women’s Air Pistol

Christian Reitz (Germany), Rio Men’ s Rapid Fire Pistol

Henri Junghaenel (Germany) Rio Rifle Prone

Anna Korakaki (Greece), Rio Women’s Sport Pistol

Diana Bacosi (Italy), Rio Women’s Skeet

Gabrielle Rossetti (Italy), Rio Men’s Skeet Champion

Xuan Vinh Huang (Vietnam), Rio Air Pistol Men’s

Virginia Thrasher (USA), Rio Women’s Air Rifle

Jessica Rossi (Italy), London 2012 Women’s Skeet

Alin Moldoveanu (Romania), London 2012 Air Rifle

Kimberly Rhode (USA), 3 time Olympic Women’s Champion