Going by medal tally at international level, junior shooters are doing a great job. But several of them don’t graduate to senior level?

It’s not just in shooting sports, but the trend of the majority of juniors not graduating to senior level is across several Olympic disciplines, which is a worrying factor as India plans to bid for 2030 Commonwealth Games as well as 2036 Olympic Games, says a national level shooting coach.

“The medal tally is impressive if you go by the recent past results of the Indian junior shooting squads at the international level,” says a national level shooting coach. “But only small number of junior shooters graduate to the senior level, which is a worrying factor.”

It’s not just shooting sports that require intense eye and hand coordination, but several other Olympic disciplines are facing similar issues in the country. The general trend is that outstanding juniors aren’t able to translate their performance when they move to senior level, says the national shooting coach.

At the nine-day long ISSF Junior World Cup, hosts India will field more than 50 promising shooters. The ISSF Junior World Cup started on September 24 at Delhi’s Dr Karni Singh Shooting Ranges. The opening day was more about equipment checking and practice at the ranges.

Eighteen nations from across the globe, including Italy and Croatia will compete in rifle, pistol and shotgun events. Asian powerhouse in shooting sports, China, has skipped the Delhi leg of the ISSF World Cup.

The ranges have been spruced up for the ISSF World Cup, says an official familiar with the development. “We have the latest equipment at the ranges,” the official adds.

Each nation is allowed to field five individual shooters in each of the disciplines.

The men’s trap will be a major attraction at the ISSF Junior World Cup in Delhi. As many as 35 shooters from 12 countries will be seen in action.

ENDS