Daijiworld Media Network - New Delhi

New Delhi, May 13: The National Rifle Association of India (NRAI) has confirmed that the next round of National Selection Trials for Rifle and Pistol events will be held from June 24 to 30 at Dehradun’s Trishul Shooting Range, located within the Maharana Pratap Sports College. These are Trials 3 and 4, exclusively for Group ‘A’ shooters.

These trials will play a pivotal role in finalizing the Indian squad for key international tournaments this year — including the 16th Asian Shooting Championships in Kazakhstan this August and the ISSF World Cups in China and Egypt.

India's elite marksmen and women arrive at this stage following an impressive showing in the ISSF World Cup’s South American double-header in Argentina and Peru. They featured in 32 final rounds — including mixed-team events — and secured a total of 15 medals, with six golds among them.

In line with NRAI’s selection policy, only top-ranked Group ‘A’ shooters are eligible to participate. The trials will cover all Olympic Rifle and Pistol disciplines, with limited entries: 50 shooters each for 10m Air Rifle and 10m Air Pistol (Men and Women), 30 each for 50m Rifle 3 Positions (Men and Women), 20 for 25m Rapid Fire Pistol (Men), and 30 for 25m Sport Pistol (Women).

Competition will begin on June 25 with the T3 qualifying and final rounds for 10m Air Rifle Men, 25m Pistol Women, and 50m 3 Positions Women. The T4 rounds for these events will follow on June 26.

Meanwhile, in preparation for the ISSF World Cup in Munich (early June), NRAI has already named a 22-member squad, including Paris Olympic bronze medallist Swapnil Kusale and Asian Games champion Palak, both making a return to international competition.