The shooting world is set for another transformation as it has now been confirmed that after the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics, 25m Rapid Fire pistol will give way to 25m pistol. The 25m rapid fire pistol event has always been special for India with multiple medals in the discipline. With this development, NRAI is introducing a 25m pistol event for all national events from this year.
The upcoming inaugural Shooting League of India, a franchise-based mixed event tournament that is scheduled for November, will have the 25m sports event instead of the 25m rapid fire, as confirmed by NRAI president Kalikesh Singh Deo.
NRAI is encouraging star players like Vijayveer Sidhu and Anish Bhanwala to start training for the 25m pistol event so that Indians are truly entrenched in the discipline. The NRAI president has also confirmed that the shooters are being allowed to participate in international events related to 25m pistol. Something that has never been done.
“Till 2028, you have the 25m rapid-fire and then it will be replaced by 25m. In the Shooting League, we haven’t kept the 25m rapid fire, we’ve kept a mixed team of sports pistol. So that’s one step we’ve already taken. We’ve also allowed our shooters to take part in international events for 25m.
“Traditionally, we don’t allow our Olympic level or national level shooters to compete in non-Olympic sports because it distracts them from their main goal. But in this case, we have specifically allowed it, so that we can have a smooth transition from rapid fire to sports pistol. In fact, our focus in the next 4 years will be to see how we can migrate our rapid fire shooters into a more structured format of sports pistol.” Kalikesh Singh Deo elaborated on how NRAI is already working on a smooth transition for the shooters into the new event.
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