Abhinav, Gagan, Kynan Strike Form Ahead of Rio


New Delhi, June 23, 2016: Three Rio 2016 Olympics bound Indian shooting squad members, led by the peerless AbhinavBindra, struck form just over a month ahead of the quadrennial sporting extravaganza, when they put in commanding performances along with high scores to reach the final rounds of their respective events, here in the Azerbaijani capital of Baku, which is hosting the final International Shooting Sport Federation (ISSF) World Cup stage (Rifle/Pistol/Shotgun) of the year. Abhinav, India’s only individual Olympic Gold medalist and GaganNarang, London 2012 Bronze medalist, both reached the eight-man final of the Men’s 10m Air Rifle event on Day two of the World Cup, while youngster KynanChenai, who will be embarking upon his first Olympics come August also reached the Men’s Trap final where only the top six qualify.

Extremely happy at the day’s developments, Mr. Raninder Singh, President, National Rifle Association of India (NRAI), said, “It is very encouraging that all three of our finalists today led from the front in qualifying. It shows that their preparation graph for the upcoming Rio Olympics is peaking at the right time. These are good signs.”

Abhinav eventually finished seventh in the event after having shot a solid 627.4 in qualifying to make the final in fourth position. Gagan shot a 626.6 to qualify for the final round in sixth place, before eventually settling for the same position in the final standings. KynanChenai shot a superb 123 out of 125 to qualify for the finals in second place. In the final rounds he was the first to be eliminated, having shot 12 birds out of 15 to end in sixth place. This was Kynans second World Cup final round appearance in Trap and it comes at a good time of the year, just one month ahead of the Olympics, which is sure to boost his confidence even more.

Among the other Indians in the fray on day two, Chain Singh in the Men’s 10m Air Rifle, who will also be taking the flight to Rio come end July, shot a subdued 623.7 to finish in 25th place. PrithvirajTondaiman also finished in 25th place, in the Men’s Trap however, having shot a score of 116 in qualifying. The third Indian in Men’s Trap, Zoravar Singh Sandhu, also shot the same score to finish in 27th position.

In the day’s third medal event, the Women’s 10m Air Pistol, India’s Heena Sidhu shot 379 in qualifying to finish in 26th spot, while compatriot Shweta Singh shot 376 to end in 39th place. Anisa Sayed shot 369 in the same event to end in 54th position.

On day one of competitions, held on Wednesday, there was only one medal event held, the Women’s Trap. India’s Seema Tomar and ShagunChowdhary had both shot a score of 65 in qualifying to finish in 21st and 22nd spots respectively. RajeshwariKumari shot one point less for a 64, to end up in 26th place.