Tangier (Morocco), March 24 Bhowneesh Mendiratta will aim to put the heartbreak of the Paris Olympics behind him and start the year on a high note as he leads the Indian charge at the season-opening ISSF Shotgun World Cup, with an eye on a busy calendar culminating in the Asian Games and the World Championships later this year.
Trap marksman Bhowneesh, who secured India's first quota for the Paris Olympics but missed out in the trials, will be keen to make a strong start in Tangier as the qualification cycle for the Los Angeles 2028 Olympics gets underway this year.
India is sending a 12-member squad for trap and skeet across the men's and women's events, along with two mixed trap teams, supported by a large contingent of foreign coaches, physiotherapists, and psychologists, even as top trap shooter Zoravar Singh Sandhu misses out on the lineup.
Last year, veteran trap shooter Zoravar became only the third Indian to win a World Championships medal, securing bronze and joining the legendary Karni Singh and Manavjit Singh Sandhu in India's elite shooting history.
The 46-year-old, currently ranked fourth in the world by the International Shooting Sport Federation (ISSF), faces a challenging path to the Asian Games in Aichi-Nagoya this September-October, as team selection for the continental event requires participation in World Cups, meaning skipping them could jeopardize his qualification despite being India's top trap shooter.
With the National Rifle Association of India securing approval from the Indian embassy in Morocco despite tensions in the Middle East, safety shouldn't be an issue, but on paper, the team – apart from Bhowneesh – appears fairly ordinary.
Olympian trap shooter Prithviraj Tondaiman, 38, whose career highlight is an individual bronze at the international level, finished 21st at the Paris Games, while fellow trap shooter Kynan Chenai, a 2016 Rio Olympian, counts an Asian Championship individual bronze among his top achievements.
With 271 athletes from 43 countries in the fray, India faces a tough challenge, especially as a couple of its shooters make their senior-level debut.
In women's trap, Olympian Rajeshwari Kumari remains one of India's most experienced shooters, but her results over the years suggest she hasn't yet stepped up to the next level – she finished 22nd at the Paris Games, and her only World Cup medals, a gold and a silver, came in the women's team event back in 2021.
The 34-year-old, currently ranked 60th in the world, will also compete in the trap mixed team with Kynan Chenai, while Tondaiman pairs with Kirti Gupta for the other mixed team.
An NRAI source, speaking on condition of anonymity, revealed that one of the psychologists assigned to the skeet team from the 10-member support staff couldn't travel due to visa issues, even though she had been cleared to accompany the team.
Team:
Trap (men): Prithviraj Tondaiman, Kynan Chenai, Bhowneesh Mendiratta. (women): Kirti Gupta, Rajeshwari Kumari, Aashima Ahlawat.
Skeet: (men): Man Singh, Jyotiraditya Singh Sisodiya, Parampal Singh. (women): Yashasvi Rathore, Darshana Rathore, Maheshwari Chauhan. Mixed team: Prithviraj Tondaiman & Kirti Gupta. Kynan Chenai & Rajeshwari Kumari.