Raiza, Sabeera lead India at Junior World Cup

Olympian Raiza Dhillon and Asian junior trap champion Sabeera Haris will spearhead a 69-member Indian squad at the ISSF Junior World Cup (International Shooting Sport Federation) , starting Thursday at the Karni Singh Ranges in Tughlakabad. The team is determined to continue India’s fine form on home soil and challenge for top honors.

The second and final Junior World Cup of the year will bring together over 200 shooters from 18 countries, competing in 15 Olympic and two non-Olympic events across rifle, pistol, and shotgun. Indian shooters, all under 21, will aim to gain valuable international experience while adding to their medal tally.

Raiza Dhillon, the youngest Indian participant at the 2024 Paris Olympics, is among the country’s leading skeet shooters which is a type of shotgun shooting sport . She will look to follow up her 2021 Junior World Championships team gold in Lima(Peru) with a strong individual performance. Sabeera Haris, Asia’s junior trap champion, will also lead the charge, along with a host of promising juniors making their mark in rifle and pistol events.

The tournament begins with men’s and women’s 50m rifle prone events both non-Olympic disciplines. India has fielded five shooters in each section, including Rohit Kanyan, Kushagra Singh Rajawat, Nitin Waghmare, and Deependra Shekhawat in the men’s category, and Aadhya Agarwal, Anshika, Nimrat Brar, Anushka Thokur, and Saniya Sudesh in the women’s. These shooters will face competition from select European athletes and Individual Neutral Athletes (AIN) from Russia and Belarus.

Participation in these non-Olympic events is limited, with just 11 entries each in men’s and women’s categories, five of them Indian. This gives the hosts a strong chance to dominate early proceedings.

While the non-Olympic events may see smaller fields, a large contingent of shooters will compete in Olympic disciplines, providing Indian juniors valuable exposure and experience on the international stage.

India had topped the medal chart at the first Junior World Cup in Suhl, Germany, earlier this year, winning 11 medals: three gold, four silver, and four bronze. With home advantage and a strong lineup led by Dhillon and Haris, the Indian juniors will look to surpass that performance and continue the nation’s growing legacy in shooting.