File photo of Manu Bhaker.© AFP

Manu Bhaker at NDTV Yuva Conclave.

Rhythm Sangwan will be the only Indian shooter to compete in two events in the season-ending ISSF World Cup Final here after double Olympic-medallist Manu Bhaker opted for a three-month rest following her exploits in the Paris Games. The National Rifle Association of India (NRAI) on Thursday announced a 23-member Indian squad for the tournament that will be held across rifle, pistol and shotgun categories from October 13 to 18 at the Dr Karni Singh Shooting Range.

The squad features nine members from the Paris Olympics team which returned with three bronze medals.

A total of 11 Indian Olympians will gun for the title of the best shooter of the year along with the world’s best in 12 individual Olympic events.

The 22-year-old Bhaker scripted history for India in Paris as she won a bronze each in the women’s 10m air pistol and 10m air pistol mixed team event (paired with Sarabjot Singh in the latter), and the Indian shooters participating in the prestigious tournament in the national capital will look to carry on the momentum at the familiar range.

“We have a strong squad of proven performers for the ISSF year-ender and look forward to a strong performance. Expectations from the sport have reached sky-high after the Paris performance…,” said Sultan Singh, secretary general, NRAI.

Four shooters — Divyansh Singh Panwar (men’s 10m air rifle), Sonam Uttam Maskar (women’s 10m air rifle), Rhythm (women’s 10m air pistol & 25m pistol) and Ganemat Sekhon (women’s skeet) have been selected by ISSF directly, while the rest of the members have been picked on the basis of their Olympic trials rankings.

The 20-year-old Rhythm will have Surbhi Rao for company in the women’s 10m air pistol competition.

Seasoned shooters and Olympians Mairaj Ahmed Khan (men’s skeet) and Chain Singh (men’s 50m rifle 3 positions) have returned to the team.

Besides Rhythm, the other Paris Olympians in the squad include Arjun Babuta (men’s 10m air rifle), Arjun Singh Cheema (men’s 10m air pistol), Anish and Vijayveer Sidhu (men’s 25m rapid-fire pistol), Shreyasi Singh and Rajeshwari Kumari (women’s trap), Maheshwari Chauhan (women’s skeet) and Anant Jeet Singh Naruka (men’s skeet).

The Indian squad:

Air Rifle Men: Divyansh Singh Panwar, Arjun Babuta

Air Rifle Women: Sonam Uttam Maskar, Tilottama Sen

50M Rifle 3P Men: Chain Singh, Akhil Sheoran

50M Rifle 3P Women: Ashi Chouksey, Nischal

Air Pistol Men: Arjun Singh Cheema, Varun Tomar

Air Pistol Women: Rhythm Sangwan, Surbhi Rao

25M Rapid Fire Pistol Men: Anish, Vijayveer Sidhu

25M Sports Pistol Women: Rhythm Sangwan, Simranpreet Kaur Brar

Trap Men: Vivaan Kapoor, Bhowneesh Mendiratta

Trap Women: Rajeshwari Kumari, Shreyasi Singh

Skeet Men: Anantjeet Singh Naruka, Mairaj Ahmad Khan

Skeet Women: Ganemat Sekhon, Maheshwari Chauhan.

Differently-abled but exceptionally resolute, India’s para-athletes would look back at their Paralympics campaign with pride as most of the established names lived up to expectations and many talented greenhorns made the big stage their own in a record-smashing medal haul of 29. Seven of these 29 medals are gold, which is another first for the country that started to make its presence felt only in the 2016 edition, where it won four medals. The upswing in performance after that has been meteoric with Tokyo yielding 19, a number that was surpassed this time.

Not to forget, a lot of medal-winning performances here were record efforts and personal bests, demonstrating that the athletes have made significant progress as far as their self-belief is concerned.

The 29 medals in five sports, including a whopping 17 at the track and field events, have ensured that the country will end in the top 20 of the mega-event that was once again dominated by China with over 200 medals.

India is still far away from becoming a force at the Olympic level but the nation has certainly emerged as a force to be reckoned with in the competition for the differently-abled.

The government did its bit with increased spending on training, recovery and support staff. The sports ministry had 59 para-athletes in its Target Olympic Podium Scheme roster, 50 of whom qualified for Paris.

Unexpected medals in track and judo

The contingent of 84 ensured plenty of firsts for India in Paralympic history including medals in track events with sprinter Preethi Pal winning a bronze in the women’s 100m T35 and 200m T35 class.

T35 classification is meant for athletes who have coordination impairments such as hypertonia, ataxia and athetosis. Preethi was born with weak legs and it became progressively worse as she grew up.

Another first ever medal came via Kapil Parmar in Judo. He made India proud by securing a bronze in the men’s 60kg J1 class.

His was another story of remarkable resolve as the 24-year-old lifted himself from a life altering accident in his childhood when he got electrocuted while playing in the fields of his village. Kapil was forced to sell tea as well later in his life to make ends meet but he turned things around and how.

Archery and club throw prop up India in medals tally

The likes of Harvinder Singh and Dharambir pushed India considerably higher up the medals tally by securing path-breaking gold medals in archery and club throw respectively.

Armless archer Sheetal Devi, who was born without arms, was already a beacon of hope to millions but with her mixed team bronze, the 17-year-old gave her community another reason to never give up.

No wonder she became a crowd favourite in Paris as she left everyone in awe using her legs instead of arms to hit the bulls’ eye.

The crowd was left hugely disappointed as she narrowly lost her 1/8 elimination contest in the singles event.

Days later, Harvinder kept his nerve under extreme pressure to land the first ever gold for India in archery, also changing the colour of his medal from the Tokyo edition where he won bronze.

In the club throw event, it was a rare one two finish for India with Dharambir and Pranav Soorma ending up on the podium in the F51 class.

A tragic diving accident had Dharambir paralysed from waist down but the Sonepat resident found much needed support from fellow para athlete Amit Kumar Saroha who guided the latter in his darkest days.

Sumit Antil and Avani Lekhara defend titles

While plenty of firsts were registered, some of the Indian athletes including javelin thrower Sumit Antil and shooter Avani Lekhara had high expectations to meet, having won gold in Tokyo.

Sumit, whose left leg was amputated after an accident, broke his own Paralympic record for a second successive javelin gold while wheelchair-bound rifle shooter Lekhara dominated the field in the air rifle SH1 final.

A gold also came from the badminton court via Kumar Nitesh who pipped Britain’s Daniel Bethell in a thrilling final. Nitesh too lost his leg after a train accident. He took to badminton while pursuing his graduation from IIT-Mandi.

Going forward, India can aspire to finish in the top-10 if it manages to create a pool of para swimmers too. Only one swimmer represented the country in Paris.

Table toppers China won as many as 54 medals in swimming including 20 gold.

The all-important 44th Olympic Council of Asia General Assembly will take place at the Bharat Mandapam, Pragati Maidan in New Delhi on Sunday, September 8. On the occasion, former Indian shooter Randhir Singh will be officially named as the first Indian President of the Olympic Council of Asia in the presence of notable dignitaries including Minister of Youth Affairs and Sports, Mansukh Mandaviya, and top sports leaders from all 45 countries of Asia.

Randhir Singh was unanimously elected by the OCA representatives for the top post when he emerged as the sole candidate contesting for the position earlier this year. The 77-year-old sporting legend hails from Patiala Punjab, and was born in a family of sportspersons. His uncle, Maharaja Yadavindra Singh, played Test cricket for India and was an IOC member. His father, also a first-class cricketer, Bhalindra Singh, was also an IOC Member between 1947 and 1992.

Randhir Singh competed across four editions of Asian Games between 1978 and 1994, winning an Individual Gold Medal in Trap Shooting in 1978, Individual Bronze Medal in Trap Shooting in 1982, and a Team Silver in Trap Shooting in 1986. He also competed at the 1978 Commonwealth Games in Edmonton, Canada.

In 1979, Raja Ranjit Singh was conferred with the prestigious Arjuna Award, and also with the Maharaja Ranjit Singh Award for a historic sporting career.

His foray into the sports administration began during his sporting career when he was appointed as the Honourary Secretary General of the Indian Olympic Association in 1987, a position he held till 2012. He also became a member of the governing board of Sports Authority of India in 1987, and held the role till 2010. He also held the position of the Vice-Chairman of the organising committee of the 2010 Delhi Commonwealth Games.

He was appointed as the Secretary General, of OCA in 1991 and held the position till 2015, before taking on the role of Life Vice President which he held till 2021, after which he was appointed as the Acting President of the body. In 1998, Raja Randhir Singh was named as the Founder Secretary General of Afro-Asian Games Council and held the position till 2007.

Randhir Singh became a member of the ANOC Executive Council in 2002. Between 2003 and 2005, he was elected as the IOC representative on the WADA Board, and then became a member of WADA’s Finance and Administration Committee in 2005. He also held the Chair for the 2019 Asian Games Asian Games Coordination Committee.

Randhir Singh also became a member of the IOC between 2001 and 2014, after which he continued on as the honourary member of the global body. During his services for IOC, he was part of numerous IOC commissions including Olympic Games Study (2002-2003), Sport for All (2004-2013), Women and Sport (2006-2013), International Olympic Truce Foundation (2007), and Coordination for the 1st Summer Youth Olympic Games Singapore (2010).

For his invaluable services, Randhir Singh was awarded with the OCA Award of Merit in 2005, Merit Award from ANOC in 2006, Olympic Order, Silver in 2014 and Honorary Doctorate, Literature in Sports Science from Lakshmibai National Institute of Physical Education, Government of India.

Paris Paralympics 2024 Live: India’s schedule on Day 8!

SHOOTING

Mixed 50m Rifle Prone SH1 Qualification- Sidhartha Basu and Mona Agarwal – 1pm 

Mixed 50m Rifle Prone SH1 Final (Subject to Qualification) – 3:15 PM 

ARCHERY 

Mixed Team Recurve Open (Pre Quarterfinals)

Pooja and Harvinder Singh vs Amanda Jennings and Taymon Kenton-Smith (Australia) – 1:50pm

Subject to qualification

Mixed Team Recurve Open (Quarter-finals) – From 6:30 PM 

Mixed Team Recurve Open (Semi-finals) – From 7:50 PM 

Mixed Team Recurve Open (Bronze medal match) – 8:45 PM 

Mixed Team Recurve Open (Gold medal match) – 9:05 PM 

ATHLETICS 

Men’s Shot Put F35 

Arvind 12:12 AM (Friday) 

Women’s 100m T12 semi-final

Simran 3:10 PM

Women’s 100m T12 Final

10:47 PM Subject to qualification

POWER-LIFTING

Men’s up to 65kg final 

Ashok – 10:05pm

JUDO 

Women’s 48kg J2 (Preliminary Round)

Kokila – From 1:30 PM 

Women’s 48kg J2 (medal match)

From 7:30 PM – Subject to qualification

Men’s 60kg J1 (Preliminary Round)

Kapil Parmar

Men’s 60kg J1 (medal match)

From 7:30 PM – Subject to qualification

File image of Rudransh Khandelwal© X (Twitter)

Avani Lekhara and Mona Agarwal© X (Twitter)

Chicago:

At least four people were shot dead on a train in the US city of Chicago on Monday, police said, with a suspect apprehended soon after the mass shooting occurred.

Police said they responded to a 911 emergency hotline call early on Monday morning, arriving at the Forest Park train station where they found the four victims.

“Three were pronounced dead on scene, the fourth was transported to Loyola University Medical Center in Maywood, where they were later pronounced,” a police statement said.

Gun violence is common in the United States, a country where there are more firearms than people. Attempts to clamp down on gun rights are always met with stiff political resistance.

Chicago police put out a description of the suspected offender based on surveillence footage, and a suspect was later taken into custody with a firearm also recovered, the statement said.

“This appears to be an isolated incident with no immediate threat to the community,” the statement said.

Chicago operates one of the largest public transportation networks in the United States, with more than 317,000 people using its train system on an average weekday, according to the Chicago Transit Authority.

“It’s a horrible situation. It’s definitely something that you don’t want to wake up to. It’s a Monday morning on a holiday,” police official Christopher Chin told reporters, referring to the Labor Day holiday being observed in the United States.

This year, there have been at least 378 mass shootings — defined as a shooting involving at least four victims — across the United States, according to the Gun Violence Archive.

At least 11,463 people have been killed in firearms violence, according to the GVA.

In June, the US surgeon general issued a landmark advisory declaring gun violence a “public health crisis” and calling for wide-ranging firearm controls that have historically been quashed by political opposition.

Firearms in recent years have become the leading cause of deaths for Americans aged between one and 19, above motor vehicles, the report said.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

File image.© X (Twitter)