Asian Games shooting: Manu Bhaker leads India’s 30-member squad into battle

Nagoya: India will enter the shooting competition of the Asian Games on Sunday with China likely to pose the biggest challenge to a formidable 30-member squad led by two-time Olympic medallist Manu Bhaker.

Indian shooters produced a record 22-medal haul -- seven gold, nine silver and six bronze -- at the Hangzhou Asian Games. Their consistency this season, particularly in rifle and pistol, has strengthened the belief that the squad can make another significant contribution to India's campaign in Nagoya.

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The contingent combines established Olympians and world-class performers with emerging talent, many of whom have already experienced the pressure of Asian Games and Olympic competition.

But the spotlight will inevitably fall on Manu, who will chase her first individual Asian Games gold after a historic double-bronze outing at the Paris Olympics. She won bronze in the 10m air pistol before teaming up with Sarabjot Singh for another bronze in the mixed team event.

This will be Manu's third Asian Games. She made her continental debut as a teenager at the 2018 Jakarta Games, alongside fellow air pistol shooter Saurabh Chaudhary, under the guidance of junior national coach Jaspal Rana.

Much has changed since then. Rana, her mentor and coach during those formative years, died earlier this year and his absence will be deeply felt. For Manu, a return to the Asian Games carries an added emotional significance, taking her back to the competition where her journey on the continental stage began with Rana by her side.

Manu and Esha Singh will compete in both the 10m air pistol and 25m pistol, giving India a formidable combination in the women's pistol events. Both have the pedigree and composure to handle the demands of a multi-round competition.

India can even contemplate a rare podium sweep. The 10m air pistol trio of Manu, Esha and Suruchi Inder Singh brings together a multiple World Cup gold medallist in Suruchi and two of India's most accomplished young stars.

In the 25m pistol, Manu and Esha will be joined by the immensely experienced Rahi Sarnobat, who created history by winning gold in the event at the 2018 Asian Games. After missing the 2022 Hangzhou Games due to a debilitating illness, Sarnobat appears to have put her prolonged health struggles behind her and is back in the right space to challenge for a return to the top of the podium.

With individual and team medals on offer, the two pistol events will be among the biggest points of interest in the programme.

Before the pistol stars take centre stage, however, the competition will open with the women's 10m air rifle, where Elavenil Valarivan, Sonam Uttam Maskar and Vidarsa K Vinod will carry India's challenge.

Elavenil, 27, is the most experienced of the trio and has been in outstanding form. The Olympian won a world championship medal last year and followed it with individual gold at the Asian Championships in Shymkent in 2025 and Delhi in 2026. Her consistency throughout the season makes her one of the leading names to watch when competition begins on Sunday.

As the programme unfolds, more established names will enter the fray.

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Olympians Aishwary Pratap Singh Tomar and former world champion Rudrankksh Patil will line up alongside Niraj Kumar in the men's 50m rifle 3-positions event.

Anish Bhanwala, meanwhile, arrives in imposing form, having claimed back-to-back silver medals at the World Championships in Cairo and the World Cup Final last year.

Their performances underline the mental toughness forged by India's demanding international calendar and fiercely competitive domestic selection system.

The men's 10m air pistol line-up is less experienced. Kedarling Uchaganve, Kamaljeet and Aakash Bharadwaj -- drafted into the squad as a replacement after another shooter failed a dope test -- will carry India's challenge.

Kamaljeet is a junior world champion, while Uchaganve and Bharadwaj are yet to win an international medal. But all three have survived India's gruelling domestic selection process, where even established names can miss out, and will get their opportunity on the continental stage.

The absence of world champion Samrat Rana and world championship bronze medallist Varun Tomar has opened the door for the new-look trio. Both missed selection after failing to produce sufficiently strong performances in domestic trials and competitions.

In shotgun, Neeru Dhanda will be among the names to watch. Her recent World Cup triumph in Lonato, Italy -- where she became the first Indian woman to win an individual World Cup gold in trap -- was a landmark moment for Indian shooting.

Having beaten a field packed with some of the biggest names in the sport at its traditional heartland, Neeru arrives in Nagoya with considerable momentum.

The men's and women's skeet squads, meanwhile, offer a blend of experience and proven temperament.

Olympian Mairaj Ahmad Khan brings the experience of dozens of World Cups and three World Cup medals across individual, team and mixed events. Anantjeet Singh Naruka, an Asian Championship gold medallist, has also shown the composure to handle pressure at the highest level.

Naruka narrowly missed out on a medal at the Paris Olympics, where he and Maheshwari Chauhan finished fourth in the mixed team skeet event.