Vijay Kumar, Sanjeev Rajput among top names at national shooting trials from Jan 8 to 14

New Delhi, Dec 29 London 2012 silver medallist Vijay Kumar, former Commonwealth Games champion Sanjeev Rajput and Tokyo Olympian Divyansh Singh Panwar are among the top-names, who will feature at the national shooting trials, to be held at Dr Karni Singh Shooting Range from January 8 to 14, here.

The trials have been divided into two categories (Groups A and B). Group A consists of top-ranked shooters while Group B has those eligible for open selection trials.

For all events offering Olympic quotas in 2023, the national squad will only be selected from Group A shooters, according to the National Rifle Association of India's (NRAI) Selection Criteria (Rifle and Pistol) 2023.

Vijay Kumar will shoot in the men's 25m rapid fire pistol event while Sanjeev Rajput and Divyansh Singh Panwar will face off in men's 50m rifle 3 positions. Divyansh Singh Panwar is also listed in the 10m air rifle. All three shooters will compete in Group A.

The 37-year old Kumar returned to competitive shooting for the first time in more than four years at the world championships in Cairo in October. The veteran could not win an Olympic quota for India at the world championships but he could earn more chances based on his performances at these trials.

"We are all geared up to start our preparations early in the new year with the trials. It is going to be a year of continuous national and international competitions and we also host a home World Cup stage this year. These are the top shooters we have in Rifle and Pistol and it will be important for them to get into competition mode early in a pre-Olympic and Asian Games year," said K. Sultan Singh, Secretary General, NRAI in a media release.

"The trials we hope will serve exactly that purpose apart from throwing up the names who will take up India responsibilities on the international stage, in the beginning of the year," he added.

Notably, Bhowneesh Mendiratta (trap), Rudrankksh Balasaheb Patil (10m air rifle) and Swapnil Kusale (50m rifle 3 positions) so far have won India quota places for the Paris 2024 Olympics.

Good performances in these trials by the Group A shooters could also guarantee them a place in India's Asian Games squad and other major international shooting tournaments.