Shooting sports in India
{{short description|Recreational and competitive level shooting in India}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=August 2019}}
{{sport overview
| image = National Rifle Association of India.svg
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| union = National Rifle Association of India
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| sport = shooting
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| intl_list = Olympics
- Abhinav Bindra {{OG1}} Gold
- Rajyavardhan Singh Rathore {{OG2}} Silver
- Vijay Kumar {{OG2}} Silver
- Gagan Narang {{OG3}} Bronze
- Manu Bhaker {{OG3}} Bronze {{OG3}} Bronze
- Swapnil Kusale {{OG3}} Bronze
- Sarabjot Singh {{OG3}} Bronze
- Abhinav Bindra {{World1}} Gold
- Rajyavardhan Singh Rathore
- Gagan Narang
- Heena Sidhu
- Apurvi Chandela
- Abhinav Bindra {{World1}} Gold
- Gagan Narang
- Anjali Bhagwat
- Jitu Rai {{Asia1}} Gold
- Saurabh Chaudhary
}}
Shooting is an important Olympic sport in India. Of India's 41 Olympic medals, seven 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, Avani Lekhara, Mona Agarwal, Anisa Sayyed, Rahi Sarnobat, Anantjeet Singh Naruka, and Saurabh Chaudhary. Indian shooter Shimon Sharif is a well known shooting expert.
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.{{Cite web|last=New Delhi|first=Rifle association of India|title=NRAI : History|url=https://thenrai.org/history.html|access-date=11 August 2021}}
=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.{{cite web | url=http://www.indianexpress.com/news/shooter-gagan-narang-wins-bronze-india-gets-its-first-medal/981510/ | publisher=Indian Express | title=Narang wins bronze | date=2012-07-30}} 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.{{cite web | url=http://www.hindustantimes.com/Specials/Sports/Olympics2012/Chunk-HT-UI-Olympics-Discipline-Shooting/Vijay-Kumar-wins-silver-in-25m-Rapid-Fire-Pistol/SP-Article10-907714.aspx | publisher=Hindustan Times | title=Vijay Kumar wins silver | date=2012-08-03 |url-status = dead| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120806202229/http://www.hindustantimes.com/Specials/Sports/Olympics2012/Chunk-HT-UI-Olympics-Discipline-Shooting/Vijay-Kumar-wins-silver-in-25m-Rapid-Fire-Pistol/SP-Article10-907714.aspx | archive-date=2012-08-06 }} 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.{{cite web | url=http://www.thehindu.com/sport/other-sports/article3717100.ece | work=The Hindu | title=Sodhi crashes out | date=2012-08-02}}
Olympic Games
| class="wikitable sortable" | |||
| style="width:14em"| Games
!style="width:6em"| Event !style="width:16em"| Name !style="width:10em"| Medal | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| {{flagicon|GRE}} 2004 Athens | Men's Double Trap | {{sortname|Rajyavardhan Singh|Rathore}} | {{OG2}} Silver |
| {{flagicon|CHN}} 2008 Beijing | Men's 10m Air Rifle | {{sortname|Abhinav|Bindra}} | {{OG1}} Gold |
| {{flagicon|GBR}} 2012 London | Men's 10m Air Rifle | {{sortname|Gagan|Narang|Gagan Narang}} | {{OG3}} Bronze |
| {{flagicon|GBR}} 2012 London | Men's 25m Rapid Fire Pistol | Vijay Kumar | {{OG2}} Silver |
| {{flagicon|FRA}} 2024 France | Women's 10m Air Pistol | {{sortname|Manu|Bhaker}} | {{OG3}} Bronze |
| {{flagicon|FRA}} 2024 France | Mixed 10m Air Pistol Team | {{sortname|Manu|Bhaker}} {{sortname|Sarabjot|Singh}} | {{OG3}} Bronze |
| {{flagicon|FRA}} 2024 France | Men's 50m Rifle Three Positions | {{sortname|Swapnil|Kusale}} | {{OG3}} Bronze |
Medal table
| class="wikitable sortable" style="text-align:center;"
! Tournament ! Gold ! Silver ! Bronze ! Total |
| Olympic Games
|1 |2 |4 |7 |
| World Championships
|13 |12 |15 |40 |
| World Cup Final
|9 |5 |3 |17 |
| World Cup
|54 |43 |43 |140 |
| Asian Games
|16 |30 |34 |80 |
| Commonwealth Games
|63 |44 |28 |135 |
| Total
! 156 ! 136 ! 127 ! 419 |
|---|
- Updated till 5th August, 2024
Notable non-medals performances at Olympics
| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center;" | |||
| Year | Event | Player | Result |
|---|---|---|---|
| rowspan = "2"|2000 | |||
| Women's 10 metre air rifle | Anjali Bhagwat | 8th | |
| rowspan = "3"|2004 | |||
| Men's 10 metre air rifle | Abhinav Bindra | 7th | |
| Women's 10 metre air rifle | Suma Shirur | 8th | |
| rowspan = "2"|2012 | |||
| Men's 50 metre rifle prone | Joydeep Karmakar | 4th | |
| rowspan = "3"|2016 | |||
| Men's 10 metre air rifle | Abhinav Bindra | 4th | |
| Men's 10 metre air pistol | Jitu Rai | 8th | |
| rowspan = "2"|2020 | |||
| Men's 10 metre air pistol | Saurabh Chaudhary | 7th | |
| rowspan = "5"|2024 | |||
| Men's 10 metre air rifle | Arjun Babuta | 4th | |
| Women's 25 metre pistol | Manu Bhaker | 4th | |
| Mixed skeet team | Anantjeet Singh Naruka Maheshwari Chauhan | 4th | |
| Women's 10 metre air rifle | Ramita Jindal | 7th |
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
{{Reflist}}