Shooters Ganemat, Darsha make cut for Asian Games, World Championships

Ganemat Sekhon, the 22-year-old shotgun exponent to win India’s first skeet medal at a World Cup, and Darsha Rathore have been included in the proposed list of shooters for the ISSF World Championships in Azerbaijan and the Asian Games scheduled in Hangzhou, China from September 23.

The third skeet shooter in the women’s category for both major events is Parinaaz Dhaliwal.

Ganemat, the first Indian woman skeet shooter to win a medal in the junior World Championships and the first to win a World Cup bronze, had last month added a World Cup silver in Almaty, Kazakhstan.

Darsha has made the outing even more memorable, clinching bronze in Almaty, which meant that India had two senior individual medals in women’s skeet at the World Cup for the first time.

The men’s skeet team for the Asian Games and World Championships comprises 2014 Asian Championships silver medallist in junior category Anantjeet Singh Naruka, Angad Vir Singh Bajwa and Gurjoat Singh Khangura.

Veteran Indian skeet shooter, Olympian and multiple time national champion Mairaj Ahmed Khan has not made the cut for the two competitions.

As per the National Rifle Association of India (NRAI) norms, the scores of four trials and a few international competitions in the first half of 2023 were taken into consideration for the selection of the team.

In the men’s trap section, Prithviraj Tondaimal, veteran Zoravar Singh Sandhu and Olympian Kynan Chenai have made the cut, while 2006 World Champion Manavjit Singh Sandhu has been unable to secure a berth, finishing fifth in the overall tally.

Tamil Nadu’s Prithviraj, in fact had emerged winner in the fourth national selection trials for shotgun held recently in Bhopal.

In women’s trap, Manisha Keer, Preeti Rajak and Rajeshwari Kumari are the three shooters to secure their spots for the big-ticket competitions, while two big names — Shreyasi Singh and Shagun Chaudhary — have missed out. Punjab’s Rajeshwari was at her best in the finals of the fourth round of trials in Bhopal, with a score of 48 en route to claiming the crucial victory.

Squads:

World Championships in Baku, Azerbaijan

Trap (Men) Prithviraj Toindaman, Kynan Chenai, Zoravar Singh Sandhu.  (Women) Manisha Keer, Preeti Rajak, Rajeshwari Kumari.

Skeet: (Men) Aanatjeet Singh Naruka, Angad Vir Singh Bajwa, Gurjoat Singh Khangura. (Women) Ganemat Sekhon, Parinaaz Dhaliwal, Darsha Rathore.

Trap Mixed team: Prithviraj Toindaman/Manisha Keer and Kynan Chenai/Preeti Rajak.

Skeet Mixed team: Anantjeet Singh Naruka/Ganemat Sekhon and Angad Vir Singh Bajwa/Parinaaz Dhaliwal.

Asian Games in Hangzhou

Trap (Men) Prithviraj Toindaman, Kynan Chenai, Zoravar Singh Sandhu. (Women) Manisha Keer, Preeti Rajak, Rajeshwari Kumari.

Skeet: (Men) Anantjeet Singh Naruka, Angad Vir Singh Bajwa, Gurjoat Singh Khangura. (Women) Ganemat Sekhon, Parinaaz Dhaliwal, Darsha Rathore.

Skeet Mixed team: Anantjeet Singh Naruka/Ganemat Sekhon and Angad Vir Singh Bajwa/Parinaaz Dhaliwal.