India’s top trap shooter Zoravar Singh Sandhu, currently ranked number one in Asia and among the top six in the world, has been left out of India’s proposed shotgun contingent for this year’s Asian Games despite a string of strong international performances.
This comes at a time when Indian shooting is balancing between a rigid selection policy and growing expectations of medal success on the world stage.
“The federation should reconsider this (selection), but whatever decision they take, I have to accept. As I am Asia’s number one and currently world number six, the federation should consider it (success),” Zoravar told PTI. “I shot as a zero scorer in the World Cup in Kazakhstan and I scored a maximum in the Indian contingent.
NRAI general secretary Pawankumar Singh defended the decision, saying the federation would not deviate from the policy set more than a year ago.
“It is 99 percent final that this is the shotgun team that will go to the Asian Games,” he said. “If we start changing the names in the lineup after seeing the faces of the players, there will be no difference between shooting and the rest of the sports.”
Zoravar’s omission stems largely from a dip in form during the national championships and domestic qualifiers, competitions he was forced to participate in despite an intense international schedule leading up to the World Championships and World Cup finals. Those performances have proved costly even though he was ranked No. 4 in the world barely a month ago and has posted some of the strongest international scores by any Indian trap shooter in the past six months.
The proposed men’s trap team for the Asian Games in Aichi-Nagoya from September 19 to October 4 includes Kynan Chenai, Ahvar Rizvi and Shapath Bhardwaj. Zoravar Singh Sandhu wins men’s trap bronze at the 2025 ISSF World Shotgun Championships in Athens (Photo by X/ @airnewsalerts)
STRONG INTERNATIONAL PERFORMANCE
At 47, Zoravar became only the third Indian trap shooter to win a medal at the World Championships when he secured bronze in Athens last October. He also made it to the medal round in the World Cup final before eventually finishing seventh.
Recently, Zoravar competed as a ‘zero’ shooter at the ISSF World Cup in Almaty, a category used primarily for selection and scoring purposes, yet he scored the best score among Indians in the event with a total of 119. As per NRAI rules, the top 10 shooters in the country must register at least two international scores for national team selection, even though medal contenders ‘
Despite the backlash surrounding the decision, the NRAI appears unlikely to change the team, with federation officials saying the proposed contingent is effectively final.
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Published on:
13 May 2026 15:49 IST
