Asia No.1 Trap Shooter Zoravar Singh Snubbed From India's Asian Games Shooting Squad

Asia No. 1 and world No. 6 trap marksman Zoravar Singh Sandhu has been left out of the proposed Indian shotgun contingent for this year's Asian Games despite the fact that the veteran shooter is one of top shooters in the country and clinched a bronze medal at the prestigious World Championships last year. Zoravar endured a slump in form during the National Championships and domestic selection trials -- events he was compelled to compete in despite a gruelling international calendar featuring the World Championships and World Cup Finals -- leaving him unable to hit peak form on the domestic circuit.

Those underwhelming scores in the national trials ultimately cost him a place in the Asian Games-bound squad, even though he was ranked world No. 4 barely a month ago.

Zoravar has urged the National Rifle Association of India (NRAI) to "review" its decision, pointing out that he has registered the best international scores among Indian trap shooters over the last six months.

The federation, however, has maintained that it will "strictly go by the selection policy put in place a year ago".

The proposed men's trap team -- which NRAI secretary-general Pawankumar Singh said will "99 per cent" remain unchanged -- features Kynan Chenai, Ahvar Rizvi and Shapath Bharadwaj for the continental showpiece to be held in Aichi–Nagoya from September 19 to October 4.

Zoravar, 47, became only the third Indian trap shooter to win a medal at the World Championships when he clinched bronze in Athens in October last year. He also made the medal round at the World Cup Finals before eventually finishing seventh.

More recently, competing as a 'zero' shooter at the World Cup in Almaty this month, Zoravar returned the best score by an Indian in the competition with a tally of 119.

‘Zero' shooters are essentially fillers whose scores are recorded for selection purposes, with the NRAI making it mandatory for the country's top-10 athletes to have at least two international scores for national team selection.

However, a 'zero' shooter is not eligible to compete for medals and can participate only for scoring purposes.

Zoravar's international scores stack up strongly against his rivals. He shot 122 at the 2025 World Championships and followed it up with scores of 119 at both the 2025 World Cup Finals and the 2026 World Cup in Almaty. In comparison, Rizvi managed 115 in Almaty in May, while Shapath returned 118 at the same event. Kynan, meanwhile, shot 119 at the Tangier World Cup in March this year.

"The federation should reconsider this (selection policy) but whatever decision they take I have to accept. Being Asia No.1 and currently world No.6, the federation should consider this (achievement)," Zoravar told PTI.

"I shot at the World Cup in Kazakhstan (this month) as a 'zero' shooter and I shot the maximum in the Indian contingent," he added.

NRAI secretary-general Pawankumar Singh said: "It's 99 per cent final that this is the final shotgun team that will go to the Asian Games." Asked whether leaving out the highest-ranked Indian trap shooter and Asia's top marksman compromised the country's medal prospects, he said, "The selection policy was declared more than a year ago and if we start changing names in the squad after seeing the faces of players, then there will be no difference left between shooting and the rest of the sports." A top shotgun shooter said on condition of anonymity that the sports minister has recently announced that, "only athletes with a real chance of winning medals at the Asian Games will be considered, so why leave Zoravar out of the contingent when he is shooting so well internationally." But Pawankumar said, "I doubt Zoravar will be included. Even when I say the team is 99 per cent final, this is the squad that is likely to go to the Asian Games."

Proposed shotgun squad for Asian Games: Men's trap: Kynan Chenai, Ahvar Rizvi, Shapath Bharadwaj. (Women) Neeru, Manisha Keer, Aashima Ahlawat. (Men's skeet) Anantjeet Singh Naruka, Bhavtegh Gill, Mairaj Khan (Women) Parinaaz Dhaliwal, Raiza Dhillon, Maheshwari Chauhan. (Trap mixed team) Kynan Chenai & Neeru. (Skeet mixed team) Anantjeet Naruka & Parinaaz Dhaiwal. 

(This story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)

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