ISSF World Cup final a celebration of excellence: Sports minister Mansukh Mandaviya

Sports minister Mansukh Mandaviya called shooting World Cup final, which commenced here on Monday, a celebration of excellence and ded that country felt honoured to welcome best in business.

event, being held at Karni Singh Ranges, brings toger 200 shooters from 37 nations, including Olympic medallists.

Indian pistol shooter Rhythm Sangwan helines hosts' 23-member squ in season-ending tournament.

While Paris Olympics bronze-medallist shooters Manu Bhaker, Sarabjot Singh and Swapnil Kusale have opted to skip event, rising stars such as Ganemat Sekhon (women's skeet) and Sonam Maskar (women's 10m air rifle) will look to excel in tournament, having earned ir spots based on world rankings.

Indian squ features nine athletes from 2024 Paris Olympics , including Arjun Babuta (men's 10m air rifle), Anish Bhanwala (men's 25m rapid fire pistol.

"We are honoured to welcome world's finest shooting talent, along with athletes, officials, and spectators from across globe. Hosting this prestigious event is a privilege for India, and we hope you feel like family during your time here," said Mandaviya during opening ceremony.

"It showcases best of our sport and strengns global camarerie. To athletes, your presence is a testament to your hard work and greatness. Compete with pride and embrace values of sportsmanship. World Cup Final is not just a competition, but a celebration of excellence and unity," he ded.

International Shooting Sport Federation (ISSF) president Luciano Rossi said he was hoping shooting sport will become even more popular in years to come.

"We have shooters from 37 countries across all continents here to compete, and we look forward to welcoming even more nations to this sport in future," said Rossi.

India's young guns Tilottama Sen and Sonam Uttam Maskar will compete in women's air rifle while Arjun Babuta, who finished fourth at Paris Olympics , Divyansh Panwar will take aim in men's air rifle.

Rhythm Sangwan and Arjun Cheema le India's charge in women's and men's air pistol respectively, alongside Surbhi Rao and Varun Tomar.

world's top six athletes of combined six ISSF World Cup stages held throughout 2024, along with Paris Olympic medallists, defending ISSF World Cup Final champions and reigning world champions have achieved direct qualification in 12 events.

National Rifle Association of India (NRAI) has handed out several wild cards to its shooters to fill up maximum two shooters per country per event quota, in case y have not achieved same through direct qualification. PTI AM AM KHS