S.Kannan
Shooting as an Olympic sport is battling hard to stay relevant for the 2028 Olympics in Los Angeles. Even during the Paris Olympics, ISSF (world shooting body) president Luciano Rossi told RevSportz there was a need to adapt, change and be more visible. After the recently concluded ISSF World Cup finals in New Delhi, where India won four medals, there is optimism that the momentum can be carried forward.
That is just one part of the story. The ISSF is looking at how the sport can be visually more attractive and making the finals more TV friendly. One complaint against shooting even at the Olympics is “there is not too much to follow”. For those who do not track the sport closely, there is some amount of truth in it. Here, again, Rossi hinted the trap and skeet events can be shortened in format, not spread over two days. How it will pan out is still being debated. Plus, Rossi has also hinted the number of shooters in the finals needs to be increased from six to eight.
Firstly, for the ISSF president to be frank and share his thoughts is good. Nothing is a secret and he has made it clear, for the LA Olympics, the event will be held in the same city, unlike Paris 2024. At the same time, for the sport to remain relevant, changes have to be made. And that begins right away. Hosting an ISSF World Cup finals is big money and the NRAI did well to bring sponsors on board. India will also host the ISSF junior world championships in 2025, which is good. The juniors are doing well, though to expect they will be the same ones who will win medals in the next Asian Games (2026 Nagoya) may be premature.
On changes planned in the next Olympic cycle, one important decision may be to get rid of a ranking system, which only favours the strong shooting nations. “The current ranking system is flawed. Whoever participates more gets more points,” said rifle coach Deepali Deshpande. What she means is that if one shooter competes in more World Cups, he or she gets an advantage. “In the last two years, the ISSF has increased the number of World Cups per year and also added an additional World Championship. This also dilutes competitions. They should go back to four World Cups a year and one World Championship every four years,” Deepali told RevSportz. Deepali is coach/mentor to Swapnil Kushale, Arjun Babuta and a clutch of more rifle shooters.
ISSF President Rossi is, in fact, looking at feedback from all. He is aware that for the sport to become more visible a lot more needs to be done. That will not happen overnight for sure, even though Europe has so many club competitions which serve as good match practice for the shooters, Indians included.
Speaking to RevSportz, Manu Bhaker said the ISSF does keep innovating. “I think every time after the Olympic Games, they change the system a few times before finalising it. Last team around as well, rapid fire mixed team. I feel the team matches in the Olympics are important and gender equality is a good thing for the sport at the Olympics,” she said.
Asked for her views on the ranking system, Manu said she never even knew about it. “I did not realise there was a ranking system. I was only focusing on quota competitions and how to do well in them. I never paid attention to rankings and only now I have come to know this also existed,” she said. It is very much possible that the ISSF may do away with the rankings system totally.
Speaking about her own plans, Manu has resumed light training. The focus is to get back to competition mode from January 2025. So, if the ISSF is planning changes, the shooters also have to keep it in mind. These are the challenges for shooters as well as coaches who plan in advance. LA 2028 is not four years away, really. If the ISSF has a hard task on its hands, the competitors also need to be ready for whatever changes are made. After all, the goal is how India can win more medals in shooting in the next Olympics.
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