New Delhi, Oct 7 (NationPress) The world's elite shotgun shooters are set to converge in Athens, Greece, for the ISSF World Championship Shotgun 2025, taking place from October 8 to 19 at the Malakasa Shooting Range. This prestigious event will showcase five medal competitions — the men's and women's trap and skeet, along with the mixed team trap, all of which are Olympic disciplines. The action kicks off on October 10, 2025, spanning a full week.

A total of 68 federations are sending 406 athletes to compete in 518 events, which include six Olympic medallists. India has dispatched a 12-member squad that features the current Asian champions in men’s skeet, Anantjeet Singh Naruka, and women’s trap, Neeru Dhanda, among others.

Joining them are Bhowneesh Mendiratta, who recently secured silver in men's trap at the Shymkent Asian championships, and Aashima Ahlawat, who won bronze in women’s trap. Veteran shooters Zoravar Singh Sandhu (men’s trap) and Mairaj Ahmad Khan (men’s skeet) are also part of the lineup.

Team India views this championship as a pivotal opportunity to enhance its presence in shooting sports. The nation’s most remarkable Olympic feat in this discipline remains the historic gold medal captured by Manavjeet Singh Sandhu in men’s trap during the 2006 Olympics in Athens.

In men’s skeet, all eyes will be on the American duo: Vincent Hancock, a four-time Olympic gold medallist and reigning champion, alongside Conner Prince, the silver medallist from Paris 2024. Hancock also clinched gold earlier this year in Lonato. They will compete against 2023 World Championship medallists Eetu Kallioinen of Finland (silver) and Azmy Mehelba of Egypt (bronze), a former world champion, amid a star-studded field of 121 athletes.

The competition will include several top-ranked shooters, such as World No.1 Christian Elliott of the USA, who bagged gold in Buenos Aires and silver in Lima earlier this year. India will be represented by Asian Champion Anantjeet Singh Naruka, Bhavtegh Singh Gill, and Mairaj Ahmad Khan, all aiming to excel against a formidable skeet lineup.

The women’s skeet event promises to be fiercely contested, featuring 63 athletes. Leading the charge is World No.1 Samantha Simonton from the USA, who has won gold in Lonato and earned silver medals in Lima and Nicosia. She will be accompanied by fellow American Dania Jo Vizzi, ranked No.3 globally and the silver medallist at the Baku World Championship. Vizzi has enjoyed a stellar season, securing gold in Buenos Aires, silver in Lonato, and bronze in Lima.

The host nation, Greece, will be represented by World No.6 Emmanouela Katzouraki, a bronze medallist from the Baku World Championship. India will look to Olympian Raiza Dhillon, Ganemat Sekhon, and Parinaaz Dhaliwal to carry the nation's hopes.

The men’s trap event showcases 141 athletes, including reigning World Champion Giovanni Cernogoraz from Croatia, along with his 2023 World Championship podium teammates, Marián Kovačócy of Slovakia and Khaled Al-Mudhaf of Kuwait.

Notable contenders include Nathan Hales of Great Britain, a Paris Olympic gold medallist, and Jean Pierre Brol of Guatemala, the Paris Olympic bronze medallist, who is also ranked World No. 4 and a Buenos Aires gold medallist.

Top competitors consist of World No.1 Mauro De Filippis from Italy and World No.2 William Hinton from the USA, both of whom achieved gold in Lima. India’s representation in this category includes Bhowneesh Mendiratta, Vivaan Kapoor, and Zoravar Singh Sandhu.

In the women’s trap, defending World Champion Lin Yi-Chun of Chinese Taipei will attempt to retain her title. The event features 80 participants, including World Championship bronze medallist Kathrin Murche from Germany, World No.1 Lada Denisova (AIN), who won gold at the Nicosia World Cup, and Paris Olympic gold medallist Adriana Ruano of Guatemala.

Other leading contenders include World No.2 Silvana Stanco of Italy, the Paris Olympic silver medallist, who also claimed gold in Lima and silver in Lonato. India’s squad for this event includes World No.8 Neeru Dhanda, along with Aashima Ahlawat and Kirti Gupta.

The trap mixed team event will see 55 teams from 35 federations, with some nations entering two pairs. India will field two teams: Neeru with Bhowneesh Mendiratta, and Aashima Ahlawat with Zoravar Singh Sandhu.

Accomplished pairs in this event include Mitchell Illes and Penny Smith from Australia, who secured gold in Lima and silver in Buenos Aires. Illes also won gold in Lonato alongside Laetisha Scanlan. Other notable names include Wan-Yu Liu and Kun-Pi Yang from Chinese Taipei, the gold medallists from Buenos Aires.

The medals for the 2025 ISSF World Championship Shotgun celebrate Athens’ Olympic legacy. The reverse side features a laurel branch, a victory symbol from ancient Greece, surrounding a shooting target representing precision and focus, with embossed dots illustrating the spread of shotgun pellets.

The front showcases the ISSF logo, while the back displays the inscription “ISSF World Championship Shotgun” and “Athens 2025,” honoring the city that hosted the first modern Olympic Games.

All medal winners from Athens will automatically qualify for the ISSF World Cup Final 2025 in Doha, Qatar, later this year.

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