New Delhi: A total of 364 top shooters including Olympic medalists, World and Asian champions will represent 29 teams comprising states, Union Territories (UTs) and the Services Sports Control Board (SSCB) at the 38th National Games Shooting competitions to be held in Dehradun (Rifle/Pistol) and Rudrapur (Shotgun) respectively from January 28 to February 13.
Punjab with 32 shooters and Haryana with 31 have fielded the largest contingents with SSCB (27) coming in next. Maharashtra, Rajasthan, and Uttar Pradesh, besides the hosts Uttarakhand also have a competitive 20-shooters each.
Among the UTs, Delhi, Dadra and Nagar Haveli & Daman and Diu and Jammu and Kashmir have the largest nine-shooter contingents.
Haryana pipped Punjab in the previous edition of the Games in Goa with five golds to the latter’s four. Madhya Pradesh (2), Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu and West Bengal won the other five on offer.
All the Paris Olympians with the exception of Manu Bhaker and Esha Singh, will also be seen in action in the games. Swapnil Kusale, Sarabjot Singh and Vijay Kumar will be among the Olympic medalists in action while former Air Rifle World Champion Rudrankksh Balasaheb Patil will also represent his home state of Maharashtra.
Among those who will be defending titles will be four Olympians. Notable among them will be the trio from Punjab – world championship silver medallist Anjum Moudgil (women’s 3P), world record holder Angad Bajwa (men’s skeet) and Rajeshwari Kumari (women’s trap), whereas the fourth Aishwary Pratap Singh Tomar of Madhya Pradesh, who won double gold in Goa, will turn out for his home-state Madhya Pradesh.
While the Rifle and Pistol competitions begin at the Maharana Pratap Sports College range in the Uttarakhand capital from January 28 and end on February 6, the Shotgun events at the 46th Battalion PAC campus in Rudrapur begin on February 6 and go up to February 13.
(IANS)
