India's 12-member contingent gears up for ISSF World C'ship Shotgun 2025 in Athens

New Delhi, Oct 7 (IANS) The world’s top shotgun shooters will gather in Athens, Greece, for the ISSF World Championship Shotgun 2025, held from October 8 to 19 at the Malakasa Shooting Range in the Greek capital. The event features five medal contests — men’s and women’s trap and skeet, plus the mixed team trap — all Olympic disciplines. The competition spans seven days, beginning on October 10, 2025.

A total of 68 federations have entered 406 athletes, competing in 518 events, including six Olympic medallists. India has sent a 12-member team that includes current Asian champions in men’s skeet, Anantjeet Singh Naruka, and women’s trap, Neeru Dhanda, among others.

The squad also features Bhowneesh Mendiratta, the men's trap silver medallist at the recent Shymkent Asian championships, and Aashima Ahlawat, the women's trap bronze medallist. Veterans Zoravar Singh Sandhu (men’s trap) and Mairaj Ahmad Khan (men’s skeet) are also part of the team.

Team India will view the championship as an opportunity to strengthen their emerging presence in shooting sports. The country’s most notable Olympic achievement in this field is the historic gold medal won by Manavjeet Singh Sandhu in the men’s trap at the 2006 Olympics in Athens.

All eyes in men’s skeet will be on the American duo: Vincent Hancock, a four-time Olympic gold medallist and reigning champion, and Conner Prince, who took silver at Paris 2024. Hancock also won gold earlier this year in Lonato. They will compete alongside 2023 World Championship medallists Eetu Kallioinen of Finland (silver) and Azmy Mehelba of Egypt (bronze), who is also a former world champion, among a star-studded field of 121 athletes.

The field will include several top-ranked shooters, such as World No.1 Christian Elliott of the USA, who secured gold in Buenos Aires and silver in Lima earlier this year. India will be represented by Asian Champion Anantjeet Singh Naruka, Bhavtegh Singh Gill, and Mairaj Ahmad Khan, all aiming to stand out against one of the strongest skeet lineups in recent years.

The women’s skeet event is expected to be highly competitive, featuring 63 athletes. At the forefront is World No.1 Samantha Simonton from the USA, who secured gold in Lonato and silver medals in Lima and Nicosia. She will be joined by her fellow American, Dania Jo Vizzi, ranked No.3 globally and the silver medallist at the Baku World Championship. Vizzi has had an impressive season, winning gold in Buenos Aires, silver in Lonato, and bronze in Lima.

Greece, the host nation, will be represented by World No.6 Emmanouela Katzouraki, who is the bronze medalist from the Baku World Championship. India will be represented by Olympian Raiza Dhillon, Ganemat Sekhon, and Parinaaz Dhaliwal, who will carry the country’s hopes.

The men’s trap event features 141 athletes, including reigning World Champion Giovanni Cernogoraz from Croatia. He will be joined by his 2023 World Championship podium teammates, Marián Kovačócy of Slovakia and Khaled Al-Mudhaf of Kuwait.

The field also features Paris Olympic gold medallist Nathan Hales of Great Britain and Paris Olympic bronze medallist Jean Pierre Brol of Guatemala, who is also ranked World No. 4 and a Buenos Aires gold medallist.

The top contenders include World No.1 Mauro De Filippis from Italy and World No.2 William Hinton from the USA, both of whom secured gold in Lima. India will be represented by Bhowneesh Mendiratta, Vivaan Kapoor, and Zoravar Singh Sandhu in this category.

In the women’s trap, defending World Champion Lin Yi-Chun of Chinese Taipei will return to retain her title. The competition features 80 participants, including World Championship bronze medalist Kathrin Murche from Germany, World No.1 Lada Denisova (AIN), who took gold at the Nicosia World Cup, and Paris Olympic gold medalist Adriana Ruano of Guatemala.

Other leading contenders include World No.2 Silvana Stanco of Italy, the Paris Olympic silver medalist who also secured gold in Lima and silver in Lonato. India’s team for the event features World No.8 Neeru Dhanda, along with Aashima Ahlawat and Kirti Gupta.

The trap mixed team event will feature 55 teams from 35 federations, with some countries entering two pairs. India will send two teams: Neeru with Bhowneesh Mendiratta, and Aashima Ahlawat with Zoravar Singh Sandhu.

The event features various accomplished pairs, including Mitchell Illes and Penny Smith from Australia, who secured gold in Lima and silver in Buenos Aires. Illes also claimed gold in Lonato alongside Laetisha Scanlan. Other notable names include Wan-Yu Liu and Kun-Pi Yang from Chinese Taipei, the gold medallists from Buenos Aires.

The medals for the 2025 ISSF World Championship Shotgun honour Athens’ Olympic legacy. The reverse side displays a laurel branch, a symbol of victory from ancient Greece, surrounding a shooting target that signifies precision and focus, with embossed dots illustrating the spread of shotgun pellets.

The front features the ISSF logo, while the back displays the inscription “ISSF World Championship Shotgun” and “Athens 2025,” paying tribute to the city that hosted the first modern Olympic Games.

All medal winners from Athens will automatically qualify for the ISSF World Cup Final 2025 in Doha, Qatar, later this year.

-- IANS

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