Shooting sports in India

Shooting is an important Olympic sport in India. Of India's 35 Olympic medals, four have come from shooting, including a gold by Abhinav Bindra in the 2008 Olympics. Indian shooters who have excelled at international events include Abhinav Bindra, Jaspal Rana, Jitu Rai, Rajyavardhan Singh Rathore, Vijay Kumar, Gagan Narang, Apurvi Chandela, Ronjan Sodhi, Anjali Bhagwat, Heena Sidhu, Shreyasi Singh, Manu Bhaker, Anisa Sayyed, Rahi Sarnobat and Saurabh Chaudhary.

Shooting sports in India
Governing bodyThe National Rifle Association of India
International competitions

History

Shooting sports have a varied history in India. Initially they were played by royal people of British India for amusement and recreation. The highest governing body of shooting sports in India is National Rifle Association of India (NRAI), which was established on 17 April 1951. From then on India achieved some success in the Olympic games by winning a Gold. But largely this sport is not affordable to command Indians because of a lack of shooting ranges and facilities in the country.[1]

2012 Olympics

The Indian shooting contingent for the 2012 London was one of the largest to date. There were a total of 11 shooters including 4 female shooters. India's first medal in the 2012 Olympics was when Gagan Narang won the bronze in the 10m Air Rifle event.[2] This was the same event in which Abhinav Bindra won India's first individual gold medal in the 2008 Summer Olympics Beijing. The second medal came from the unheralded army man Vijay Kumar when he won the silver in the 25m rapid fire pistol event after finishing 4th in the qualification rounds.[3] He had to fend off some tough competition from the third placed Chinese Ding Feng.

A notable performance was made by Joydeep Karmakar who finished 4th in the 50m rifle prone event. A strong medal prospect Ronjan Sodhi who is an Asian Games gold medallist, however crashed out in the qualification rounds of the Double trap event.[4]

Medal winners at Summer Olympics
Games Event Name Medal
Greece 2004 AthensMen's double trapRajyavardhan Singh RathoreSilver Silver
China 2008 BeijingMen's 10m Air RifleAbhinav BindraGold Gold
United Kingdom 2012 LondonMen's 10m Air RifleGagan NarangBronze Bronze
United Kingdom 2012 LondonMen's 25m Rapid Fire PistolVijay KumarSilver Silver

Total medals won by Indian Shooters in Major tournaments
Competition Gold Silver Bronze Total
Olympics 1 2 1 4
World Championships 5 8 4 17
World Cup Final 9 5 3 17
World Cup 51 40 40 131
Asian Games 16 30 34 80
Commonwealth Games 63 44 28 135
Total138120104362

Other Notable Performances at Summer Olympics
YearEventPlayerResult
2000
Women's 10 metre air rifleAnjali Bhagwat8th
2004
Men's 10 metre air rifleAbhinav Bindra7th
Women's 10 metre air rifleSuma Shirur8th
2012
Men's 50 metre rifle proneJoydeep Karmakar4th
2016
Men's 10 metre air rifleAbhinav Bindra4th
Men's 10 metre air pistolJitu Rai8th
2020
Men's 10 metre air pistolSaurabh Chaudhary7th

Administration

The sport is administered in India by The National Rifle Association of India. The association organises the following tournaments every year:

  • National Shooting Championship Competitions (NSCC)
  • All India G.V. Mavlankar Shooting Championship (AIGVMSC)
  • Sardar Sajjan Singh Sethi Memorial Masters Shooting Championship
  • Kumar Surendra Singh Memorial Shooting Championship
  • All India Kumar Surendra Singh Memorial Inter School Shooting Championship

See also

References
  1. New Delhi, Rifle association of India. "NRAI : History". Retrieved 11 August 2021.
  2. "Narang wins bronze". Indian Express. 30 July 2012.
  3. "Vijay Kumar wins silver". Hindustan Times. 3 August 2012. Archived from the original on 6 August 2012.
  4. "Sodhi crashes out". The Hindu. 2 August 2012.


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