New Delhi, Friday, Aug 30, 2024: The National Rifle Association of India (NRAI), the national governing body for sport shooting, today felicitated members of the successful and history-making Indian Olympic shooting squad, which returned with three bronze medals from the Paris 2024 Olympics, a first for any Olympic sport for India and accounting for half the total medals won by the country. The gala ceremony was attended by the entire squad of the Indian Shooting contingent that included the medalists Manu Bhaker, Sarabjot Singh and Swapnil Kusale. The medalist’s were felicitated with cash prizes while the entire squad was felicitated with mementos by the National Rifle Association of India.

Also present on the occasion were Raja Randhir Singh, President, Olympic Council of Asia; Smt. Meenakshi Lekhi, former Minister of State of External Affairs & Culture, Government of India; Smt. Yashodhara Raje Scindia, former Minister of Sports & Youth Welfare, Technical Education & Skill Development & Employment, Government of Madhya Pradesh;  Dr. Narinder Dhruv Batra, Former President, Indian Olympic Association; Mr. Ajay Patel, Senior Vice President, Indian Olympic Association and Vice President NRAI; 2012 Olympics Silver medalist Vijay Kumar and Bronze Medalist Gagan Narang, Former double trap world champion Ronjan Sodhi, Arjuna Awardee and winter Olympian Shiva Keshavan amongst other prominent personalities from the world of sport.

 Olympic Double medalist Manu Bhakar was awarded with a prize money of INR 45 Lakhs, while 50M three position Bronze Medalist Swapnil Kushale received INR 30 Lakhs and 10 M Air Pistol Mixed Team Bronze medalist Sarabjit Singh was felicitated with a cash prize of INR 15 Lakhs.

The support staff that included Dr. Pierre Beauchamp, High Performance Director, Thomas Farnik, Foreign Rifle Coach, Munkhbyar Dorjsuren, Foreign Pistol Coach, Samresh Jung, National Pistol Coach 10M, Manoj Kumar, National Rifle Coach 50M were also felicitated with a cash prize of INR five lakhs each.

 Shri Kalikesh SinghDeo, Officiating President, NRAI said, “Our shooters and coaches and the entire support staff have done the country proud. They have proven that they are second to none in this sport, which is no mean achievement. They deserve all the accolades and awards that they are getting and we are confident that this performance will herald a new wave of Shooting talent from across India. Congratulations are also in order for the entire team at NRAI, who have worked so hard to deliver under immense pressure. The fairness of our Olympic plans, the high-performance support provided and ensuring that the best Shooter in the best form is picked for the Games, have all combined effectively in this success. You should rightly be beaming with pride. Of course, it would have never been possible without the tremendous support and guidance that we receive from the SAI, the Ministry of Sports and the from the highest echelons of the Government of India. Today we pledge not sit back on our laurels, but to strive towards bettering this performance in the future.A special thanks to Pernod Richard and all our sponsors for facilitating this event and supporting us all through.”

 Kr. Sultan Singh, Secretary General, NRAI said, “I congratulate all the members of our Shooting squad for this dream performance at the Paris Games. They will inspire generations of Indian athletes to raise the bar even higher going forward. On this occasion, I would also like to thank our event sponsors Pernod Ricard and our gracious dinner host Mr. Diljeet Titus, who have been most gracious in their support towards the sport of Shooting.”

 History-making Indian Paris Olympics Shooting squad

After the Paris Games, Shooting has officially become India’s most successful Olympic sport after Hockey, the most successful since 1968 and the only sport to fetch three medals at a single Olympics.

 Indian shooters, since Rajyavardhan Singh Rathore’s famous silver at the Athens Games in 2004, have accumulated a total of one gold, two silver and four bronze medals. It has also the highest number of Olympic medallists in any sport after hockey with as many as seven (Rajyavardhan Singh Rathore, Abhinav Bindra, Vijay Kumar, Gagan Narang, Manu Bhaker, Sarabjot Singh, Swapnil Kusale) Indian shooters having won Olympic medals.

 Even outside the Olympic Games, Indian shooting has gone from strength to strength over the last two decades or so throwing up several World, Continental and multi-sport champions across the junior, youth and senior categories. Indian shooters also hold several world records.

 At the Paris Games, Indian shooters won a record 21 quota places out of a maximum 24, not only their but India’s highest ever for any sport in terms of direct qualification for the Summer Games.

 An elaborate dinner which followed the felicitation function at a city hotel was hosted by city advocate Diljeet Titus and  Pernod Ricard group.