New Delhi: India will host the International Shooting Sport Federation (ISSF) Junior World Cup for the first time in the second half of 2025. The ISSF awarded the hosting rights for the top junior international shooting competition for Rifle/Pistol/Shotgun to the National Rifle Association of India (NRAI), making it another achievement for the country in shooting sports.
The NRAI informed in a release on Saturday that this will be the third top ISSF-level event to be held in India after the senior World Cup in Bhopal in 2023 and the season-ending ISSF World Cup Final earlier this year, reinforcing India’s stature as one of the sport’s top destinations in the world.
Reacting to the development after the NRAI received the official confirmation letter from the ISSF on Friday, NRAI President Kalikesh Narayan Singh Deo said, “We had a very fruitful executive committee meeting of the ISSF in Rome last month, and all member federations, as well as ISSF President Luciano Rossi, were all praiseworthy of the way India has been hosting top international Shooting competitions and helping to grow the sport globally.
“We obviously got the sense then, but now that the official confirmation has come, we are excited and energised to put our best foot forward as usual. We are, of course, indebted to the Government of India and the Ministry of Sports for supporting, in every possible way, our efforts to grow the sport in the country,” he said.
Sultan Singh, Secretary General, NRAI, elaborated on the details of the ISSF communique, saying, “The ISSF in their letter have requested us to confirm two possible convenient slots, one in September-October and the other during the end October-beginning November period. We will, after meeting internally, share the same with them at the earliest so that member federations can prepare accordingly. The world’s top future champions and stars of Shooting will converge in India for a blockbuster showdown and we are confident that it will give the sport another grassroots boost in the country.”
This will be the ninth top-level shooting championship to be held in India over the past decade and the first ISSF Junior World Cup. Before this, India had hosted continental championships and six ISSF competitions, including two World Cup Final competitions and four senior ISSF World Cups.
The ranges in India will be busy throughout 2025, with the first-ever Shooting League of India (SLI) also planned in the first half of the year. Regular national competitions, which take place throughout the year and culminate in the nationals, are also planned, the NRAI informed in the release.
–IANS
Photo Credit: NRAI
