National Shooting Championships see record 16,000+ participants

The National Shooting Championships kicked off on Monday with a record-breaking participation of more than 16,000 athletes across pistol, rifle and shotgun disciplines, surpassing last year’s tally of over 13,500 qualified shooters.

The shotgun events commenced at the Karni Singh Shooting Ranges in Tughlaqabad, while the pistol and rifle competitions are scheduled to begin on December 11 in Delhi and Bhopal respectively.

Over the course of the next month, events in all three disciplines will be held across seven categories — Super Masters (70+ years), Senior Masters (60–70 years), Masters (45–60 years), Seniors (Open), Juniors (21 years), Youth (19 years or below) and Sub-Youth (16 years or below).

Officials said the surge in qualified participants reflects the sport’s expanding grassroots reach and India’s growing shooting ecosystem, which continues to attract talent across age groups.