World record holder Sift Kaur Samra is thrilled with her strong start to the season after winning the World Cup gold in Buenos Aires, Argentina.
The 23-year-old 50m rifle three positions shooter, who won the Asian Games gold in Hangzhou, is also happy that Indian shooting was able to assert itself in both World Cups — in Argentina and Peru — perched in the top-three of the medal standings.
“I am glad that we could bring home a lot of medals. To me, Suruchi [Singh] is the real star, as she has been able to win three gold and a bronze at such a young age. At 18, I did not know much about shooting. She is superb,” said Sift, as she talked to The Hindu on Thursday.
After the gold in the first World Cup, Sift missed the final in the second by one point.
“In both places, it was very windy. I was happy that I could handle the challenge and still shoot 590 and 587. Was unlucky to miss the final in Lima,” said Sift, happy with the guidance from fellow shooter Akhil Sheoran and the return of her coach, Deepali Deshpande in the national squad.
“These were the first competitions after the Olympics. So, I was happy to perform well. We are having interesting competitions ahead in new places like the Asian Championship in Kazakhstan, and the World Championship in Cairo, where again I do know that it would be windy,” said Sift.
The next World Cup will be in Munich, Germany. The National Rifle Association of India (NRAI) does have the option of fielding the ‘B’ team to keep everyone in competitive mode, but there would also be the temptation to capitalise on the Munich experience for the best shooters.
“The team for Munich has not been announced yet. We have done very well in Munich in the past, and everyone looks forward to shooting there,” said Sift.
She does have the intimidating world record of 469.6 in the finals, from a total of 45 shots, with 15 shots each in kneeling, prone and standing positions. However, the new Olympic format for finals would only have standing position from January next year.
“We are waiting to see how many shots in the finals, and how much would be the timing. It will be good for us, as our shooters are all good in the standing position”, she said.
The shooting calendar is set to be a bit more hectic this season, with the introduction of the Shooting League.
“I am very excited about the league. We are always used to fighting for medals. This would be fun and so different. It would also help in popularising the sport. Hope there is a lot of money also for the shooters,” added Sift.
Published - April 24, 2025 08:02 pm IST
