Granada (Spain), April 6 (NationPress) Indian marksmen are set to make a significant impact as the international rifle/pistol season commences with the mixed team events at the ISSF Rifle/Pistol World Cup in Granada, Spain, taking place at the Las Gabias Shooting Range on Tuesday. The medal competitions for the mixed team events in 10m Air Rifle and 10m Air Pistol will be contested on the very first day.

The competition will kick off with the qualification round for the 10m Air Pistol mixed team at 12:45 IST (9:15 AM local time), followed by the final scheduled for 16:30 IST (1 PM local time). The qualification for the 10m Air Rifle mixed team will commence at 15:45 IST (12:15 PM local time), with the final set for 19:30 IST (4 PM local time).

In the pistol category, reigning Asian Games champion Palak Gulia will join forces with 2024 Junior World Champion in 25m pistol, Mukesh Nelavalli. Meanwhile, 2025 World Cup Final silver medallist Sainyam will pair with Ujjawal Malik.

They will face stiff competition from elite shooters, including reigning Olympic and World champions. China, which did not participate in the Asian Championships in New Delhi, has entered two top-tier pairings for their season debut. The reigning mixed team world champions, Hu Kai and Yao Qianxun, along with Paris Olympics gold medallist Xie Yu and 21-year-old former Junior World Championship medallist Shen Yiyao, will present a formidable challenge.

Other notable pairings include Paris Olympics silver medallist Sevval Ilayda Tarhan with Yusuf Dikec from Turkey, Serbia’s Zorana Arunovic and Damir Mikec, Hungary’s Veronika Major and Akos Karoly Nagy, and Germany’s Christian Reitz and Svenja Berge.

In the 10m Air Rifle event, India will be represented by Sonam Uttam Maskar teaming with Gajanan Shahdev Khandagale, and Shruti pairing with Arshdeep Singh.

These young athletes will contend against the World Number 1s in both men's and women's categories, as well as the reigning World Champions, Sheng Lihao and Wang Zifei from China. Another strong Chinese pairing will be Ma Sihan and Zhang Qianying.

Additional contenders for medals include Jeanette Hegg Duestad and Jon-Hermann Hegg of Norway, the current 10m Air Rifle men’s World champion Maximilian Dallinger with Hannah Steffen-Dix from Germany, and Istavan Peni and Eszter Denes from Hungary.

According to the established selection policy, India has fielded shooters ranked between 4 and 6 in the domestic national rankings. With the World Championships scheduled for later this year in Doha, which will offer the first quota places for the Los Angeles 2028 Olympics, top competitors are eager to assess their readiness early in the season. Additionally, this serves as a crucial opportunity for India to evaluate its depth ahead of the upcoming Asian Games.