India’s Top Air Rifle Shooters Ready to Compete at 15th RR LAKSHYA CUP 2024

Khel Today Bureau

Navi Mumbai: India’s promising Air Rifle Shooters will fight it out at the 15th RR LAKSHYA CUP 2024  powered by RR Global on January 4 and January 5, 2025 at the fully-electronic Lakshya Shooting Club at Karnala Sports Academy, Panvel, Navi Mumbai.

The reigning men’s and women’s national air rifle shooting champions, Shahu Mane, an alumnus of Lakshya Shooting Club, and Ananya Naidu will be among the leading air rifle shooters from the country who will be vying for top honours at the 15th RR Lakshya Cup.

Also featuring will be Olympians including Divyansh Singh Panwar, Arjun Babuta and Sandeep Singh.

The premier annual invitational shooting competition conducted by Lakshya Shooting Club, the brainchild of Olympian, Arjuna Awardee and ‘Dronacharya’ Suma Shirur, has only grown from strength to strength.

Suma Shirur, High Performance Director, Lakshya Shooting Club, said, “At RR LAKSHYA Cup, we aim to recognize talent, reward excellence and provide a platform for shooters to showcase their skills at the highest level. This tournament is not just a competition. It’s a celebration of hard work, dedication and the spirit of sportsmanship. It’s a great prospect to see the current national champions square off against each other for the coveted silver trophy. That’s what the Lakshya Cup stands for.”

Mahendra Kabra, MD, RR Global, said, “We, at RR Global, value LakshyaShooting Club’s contribution to Indian sport and have been the proud supporters of the RR Lakshya Cup since 2017. Through our CSR partnership with Lakshya Shooting Club led by ‘Dronacharya’ Suma Shirur, we remain committed to supporting the growth of Indian sport.”

The RR Lakshya Cup is a top-notch ‘By Invitation Only’ event, showcasing the top 20 AirRifle shooters of India. It holds the distinction of being the first competition of its kind to promote gender equality with men and women competing together for the coveted all-silver rotating cup, which is currently held by Himanshu Talan of the Indian Army.

As Founder President of the Club, Suma first mooted the idea that men and women should shoot equal number of shots in a match. And, since the first edition of the Lakshya Cup in 2008, this competition has been following that. The move was vindicated when in December 2017, the International Shooting Sport Federation (ISSF) adopted the equal shots rule for both men and women.

Among the star-studded shooters who were previously seen in action in the past at the world-class shooting range in Navi Mumbai equipped with Megalink Electronic Targets include:

1. Odisha-born Shriyanka Sadangi, winner of the 13th RR Lakshya Cup 2022, won the Quota Place for India for the Paris 2024 Olympic Games in 50m Rifle 3 Positions.
2. RudrankkshPatil of Maharashtra, apast ISSFPresident’s Cup winner and world champion. Patil, winner of the 2021 RR Lakshya Cup edition, was a gold medallist at the Cairo World Championships in 2022 and also a Paris 2024 Quota place winner for the country.
3. DivyanshSingh Panwar of Rajasthan, 2018 winner, an Olympian & Junior National Champion 2022
4. AishwaryPratap Tomar of Madhya Pradesh, an Olympian, a 2019 winner of Lakshya Cup
5. KiranJadhav from Navy and Lakshya SC trainee, Asian Airgun Championship 2022 silver medallist
6. Hriday Hazarika ofAssam, a former Junior World Champion
7. Ashi Chouksey of Madhya Pradesh,ISSF World Cup 2022 medallist
8. DeepakKumar (2017) and Meghana Sajjanar (2016) are among the past winners.

Lakshya Shooting Club has had the distinction of being a Khelo India-accredited academy since October 2018. The Lakshya Cup, over the years, has also provided an ideal preparatory ground for the shooters going for international and national competitions.

The respective 2018 & 2017 winners, Divyansh Singh Panwar of Rajasthan & Deepak Kumar of Air Force, had won the Tokyo Olympic Quota places as did the runner up in 2017, Anjum Moudgil. The 9th RR Lakshya Cup 2017 Junior gold medal winner, Shahu Mane, went on to win silver at the Youth Olympics in Buenos Aires in 2018.

The junior 10m air rifle junior final will be held at 2pm and will be followed by the senior final from 3.30pm on January 5, 2025. The prize distribution will begin at 5.30pm.

The guest of honour for the 15th RR Lakshya Cup is Gagan Narang, Bronze Medal winner at the London Olympics 2012 and the Chef-de-Mission of the Indian contingent at the Paris Olympics 2024.