Sift Kaur Samra thrilled to see Indian shooting shine on the world stage

World record holder Sift Kaur Samra excels in shooting, aiming for more success in upcoming competitions worldwide.

 World record holder Sift Kaur Samra is thrilled with her strong start to the season after winning the World Cup gold in Buenos Aires, Argentina.

The 23-year-old 50m rifle three positions shooter, who won the Asian Games gold in Hangzhou, is also happy that Indian shooting was able to assert itself in both World Cups — in Argentina and Peru — perched in the top-three of the medal standings.

“I am glad that we could bring home a lot of medals. To me, Suruchi [Singh] is the real star, as she has been able to win three gold and a bronze at such a young age. At 18, I did not know much about shooting. She is superb,” said Sift, as she talked to The Hindu on Thursday.

After the gold in the first World Cup, Sift missed the final in the second by one point.

“In both places, it was very windy. I was happy that I could handle the challenge and still shoot 590 and 587. Was unlucky to miss the final in Lima,” said Sift, happy with the guidance from fellow shooter Akhil Sheoran and the return of her coach, Deepali Deshpande in the national squad.

“These were the first competitions after the Olympics. So, I was happy to perform well. We are having interesting competitions ahead in new places like the Asian Championship in Kazakhstan, and the World Championship in Cairo, where again I do know that it would be windy,” said Sift.

The next World Cup will be in Munich, Germany. The National Rifle Association of India (NRAI) does have the option of fielding the ‘B’ team to keep everyone in competitive mode, but there would also be the temptation to capitalise on the Munich experience for the best shooters.