Star Indian para shooters Avani Lekhara and Manish Narwal will spearhead a 31-strong Indian contingent in the Para Shooting World Cup, the first-ever in the country, which gets underway on Friday.
Lekhara made history at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, becoming the first female athlete from India to top the podium at the Paralympic Games, while Narwal clinched the mixed 50m pistol (SH1) gold at the quadrennial showpiece.
With the 2024 Games round the corner, this would be another opportunity for the two ace shooters, who have qualified for Paris, to gauge their preparations ahead of the mega event.
With 44 countries and 267 shooters competing, the event, to be held at the Karni Singh Ranges here, is the last event in the current Olympic cycle to bag a Paris quota. A total of 20 Paris berths will be on offer.
Renowned para shooters from across the world, including the 2008 Beijing Paralympic gold medallist in 10m air rifle (SH1), Slovakia's Veronika Vadovicova, will be seen alongside India's Lekhera, Rudransh Khandelwal, Narwal and Singhraj Adhana.
With teams from UAE, Russia and China also fielding strong squads, the competition will be fierce, though Russia will participate under the banner of Neutral Participating Athletes (NPA).
Outgoing Paralympic Committee of India (PCI) president Deepa Malik termed the event a milestone for the growth of para-sports in the country.
"The world looks at us as a country with the potential to host world level para-sports events. I thank World Shooting Para Sport and the International Paralympic Committee for entrusting us with this faith," said Malik.
PCI secretary-general Gursharan Singh said, "Shooting has been a sport which has always made the country proud at the international level. To host such a big event is never easy. India is continuously marching on the path of becoming a para sports superpower."
