National Shooting Championships 2021 to be back after two years

The shooting nationals were last held in Bhopal from December 7, 2019, to January 4, 2020. This time, the nationals will be held in November-December.

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BEIJING - AUGUST 09: Competitors line up to shoot in the Men's 10m Air Pistol event held at the Beijing Shooting Range during Day 1 of the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games on August 9, 2008 in Beijing, China. (Photo by Harry How/Getty Images)
(Harry How/ Getty Images)

The National Shooting Championships 2021 will be held from November 18 to December 14 in Delhi, Bhopal and Patiala, the National Rifle Association of India (NRAI) has announced. 

The 64th National Shooting Championships were originally scheduled to be held in April, but were postponed indefinitely due to the sudden spike in COVID-19 cases in March. 

On Tuesday, the NRAI released the revised dates and venues for the shooting events. 

The pistol events will be held at the Dr Karni Singh Shooting Range, New Delhi, from November 18 to December 6.

The rifle events have been scheduled at the MP State Shooting Academy in Bhopal, from November 25 to December 10.

The shotgun events - trap, double trap and skeet - will be held at the New Moti Bagh Gun Club, Patiala, from November 22 to December 14.

The nationals - India’s premier domestic shooting competition - will be held after a gap of almost two years. The last meet was held in Bhopal from December 7, 2019, to January 4, 2020. 

Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the NRAI had to cancel the national championships last year.

The entry list for the event is still not out but Indian shooters will enter the tournament on the back of a highly-successful campaign at the junior world championships in Lima, Peru.

India, with Tokyo Olympian Manu Bhaker leading the charge, topped the medal charts at the junior meet, winning 43 medals - 17 gold, 16 silver and 10 bronze.