The National Rifle Association of India (NRAI) has announced that shooters who excel in more than one discipline will receive priority for the Asian Games squad, even if they are not the top-ranked in their individual events. This decision comes as the Asian Games will feature all 12 Olympic individual events along with three mixed-gender team events. Each country can send three entries per individual event, but the total number of participants from a country has been capped at 30, which is six fewer than the maximum possible otherwise.
Reason for the policy shift
According to NRAI secretary general Pawan Singh, the policy change is driven by the reduced participant cap. “Ideally, specialists would have got priority if 36 shooters were allowed, but since we are six spots short, priority will be given to shooters who can shoot in more than one event,” Singh told Times of India. This approach aims to maximize India's medal potential by fielding versatile athletes who can compete across multiple events.
Challenges in rifle and pistol categories
The selection process will be particularly challenging in the rifle and pistol categories, where many shooters compete in both air and firearm events. In contrast, shotgun competitors cannot participate in multiple disciplines, so their selection will follow the traditional ranking-based approach. The NRAI will need to carefully balance the squad to ensure strong representation across all events while adhering to the cap.
This strategic shift underscores India's ambition to perform strongly at the Asian Games, leveraging the versatility of its shooters to overcome the numerical limitation. The final squad selection will be closely watched as the event approaches.
