Tangier, March 30 (IANS) The Indian trap shooters will aim for a strong performance against a competitive field as the Trap event at the ISSF Shotgun World Cup Tangier begins tomorrow, at the Club Tangerois de Tir in Tangier, Morocco.

The competition will begin with 75 targets for both men and women, followed by 50 targets and the finals on Sunday. The events will start at 13:30 IST (9 AM local time), with the women’s finals at 20:30 IST (4 PM local time), and the men’s finals at 22:00 IST (5:30 PM local time) on Sunday.

A highly competitive field featuring the reigning Olympic and World champions has entered the competition. India has entered the maximum quota of six athletes in both men’s and women’s categories, along with two shooters in each category, who will be vying for ranking points.

The women’s field features the reigning Olympic champion Adriana Ruano, who secured Guatemala’s first-ever Olympic gold medal, and 24-year-old World Champion Mar Molné Magriñá from Spain, leading the group of 59 competitors. Other notable athletes include Poland’s World Championship bronze medallist Sandro Bernal, finalists Fatima Galvez of Spain and Ines de Barros of Portugal, and Tokyo Olympics bronze medallist Alessandra Perilli from San Marino, among others.

The Indian team features Olympian Rajeshwari Kumari, National runner-up Kirti Gupta, and Aashima Ahlawat. Preeti Rajak and Shreshtha Sisodiya will compete for ranking points.

In the men’s event, 84 competitors have entered, led by reigning World Champion Josip Glasnovic of Croatia and Paris Champion Nathan Hales of Great Britain. The field also features notable shooters such as former World Championship medallist Anton Galsnovic, ISSF World Cup Final gold medallist William Hinton of the USA, and World Championship silver medallist Andres Garcia of Spain.

India relies on the experienced trio of Prithviraj Tondaiman, Kynan Chenai, and Bhownesh Mendiratta. Meanwhile, Sharan Susheel Gyanchand and Mohammad Asad Sultan are competing for ranking points.

The skeet shooters did not qualify for the finals earlier in the competition, but the trap athletes will be confident of performing better and winning India’s first medal of the season.

–IANS

vi/