Skeet shooters to take aim first at Lonato Shotgun World Cup

New Delhi, July 5: A six-member Indian men's and women's skeet shooting squad will take first aim on Sunday (July 06, 2025) as competitions for the international season's fourth and final International Shooting Sport Federation (ISSF) World Cup Shotgun stage, gets set to blast off at one of the sport's traditional amphitheaters, the Trap Concaverde in Lonato, Italy.

While the Skeet squad have already arrived in the Italian town well in time and hit the training ground, a further six members of the Trap team are expected to come later in the day, as per a press release from the National Rifle Association of India (NRAI).

The qualifying rounds of the men's and women's skeet competitions will begin on Sunday, with the first 50 targets on the roster for both events. The athletes come back on Monday for 50 more targets before the final round of 25 targets is played out on Tuesday, July 8, 2025, ahead of both finals.

Indian hopes will rest with Olympians Mairaj Ahmad Khan (wr 105) and Anant Jeet Singh Naruka (wr 23) as well as Bhavtegh Gill (wr 43) in men's skeet. At the same time, the women also have two Olympians, Maheshwari Chauhan (WR 13) and Raiza Dhillon (WR 21), amongst their ranks, besides the accomplished Ganemat Sekhon (WR 63).

A crack American trio led by the legend Vincent Hancock, Italians led by Gabriele Rossetti, Abdullah Al-Rashidi of Kuwait, Nasser Al-Attiya of Qatar, Azmy Mehelba of Egypt, Jesper Hansen of Denmark and Lee Meng-Yuan (Paris bronze) of Chinese Taipei, headline a top field in the men's skeet. The Indians will be up against it to make the top six.

In women's skeet, an even bigger American shotgun legend, Kimberly Rhode, will lead another top American team. At the same time, Vanesa Hockova (3) of Slovakia, who was fourth in the Paris Olympics, will be the highest-ranked athlete in the fray.

Reader Comments

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Priya S

So proud of our women shooters! Maheshwari Chauhan at WR13 is fantastic. But why isn't there more media coverage for shooting sports? Cricket gets all the attention while our shooters bring more Olympic medals.

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Aman W

The competition looks tough with legends like Vincent Hancock participating. But our shooters have proved they can compete at this level. Just need to handle pressure better in finals. #GoTeamIndia

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Sarah B

Interesting to see India's progress in shotgun events. Earlier we were only strong in rifle/pistol. Now we have world-class skeet shooters too! The sports ministry's Target Olympic Podium Scheme seems to be working.

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Karthik V

While I support our athletes, I wish NRAI would focus more on developing young talent at grassroots. We still don't have enough shooting ranges in smaller cities. Most champions come from privileged backgrounds who can afford training.

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Neha E

Ganemat Sekhon has been improving rapidly! From Punjab, just like Abhinav Bindra. Hope she can make it to finals this time. 🤞 The women's team looks particularly strong with 2 in top 25 globally.

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