(MENAFN- IANS) New Delhi, Oct 9 (IANS) India's skeet shooters will compete at the Malakasa Shooting Range in Athens, Greece, as the ISSF World Championship Shotgun 2025 kicks off on Friday with the first two qualifying rounds for the men's and women's skeet events.

India's men's skeet team will be led by Olympians Mairaj Ahmad Khan and Anantjeet Singh Naruka, recently crowned Asian Champion, along with Bhavtej Singh Gill, to complete the team. In the women's division, Olympian and former Junior World Championship silver medallist Raiza Dhillon will lead, supported by Ganemat Sekhon and Parinaaz Dhaliwal.

Naruka, who has been performing well after his recent showing at the Asian Championships in Shymkent, is set to compete among a strong field of 121 shooters. The competition is led by Vincent Hancock from the United States, a four-time Olympic gold medallist and three-time World Champion, often considered one of the finest skeet shooters ever. Mairaj, India's most accomplished international skeet shooter, aims to leverage his experience in hopes of securing his third individual ISSF medal.

Paris 2024 gold medallist Hancock, who previously secured gold in Lonato this year, will be joined by Paris Olympic silver medallist Conner Prince, along with 2023 World Championship medalists Eetu Kallioinen of Finland (silver) and Azmy Mehelba of Egypt (bronze).

The men's competition is further intensified by several world-ranked shooters, such as World No.1 Christian Elliott (USA), who secured gold in Buenos Aires and silver in Lima; World No.3 Hector Andres Flores Barahona (Chile); World No.4 Jakub Tomecek (Czechia); and World No.6 Daniel Korcak (Czechia), the bronze medallist from Lonato.

The line-up features World No.8 Henrik Jansson of Sweden, the silver medallist at Lonato, along with Denmark's Jesper Hansen, ranked No.10 globally and the Nicosia silver medallist, making for a very competitive field.

The women's skeet event will have 63 competitors competing for the top honours. Raiza Dhillon is participating after winning consecutive silver medals at the Junior World Cup in Suhl and New Delhi, and she also secured a solid fifth place at the senior Lima World Cup earlier this year.

Ganemat Sekhon, who previously won a silver medal at the Junior World Championship, brings valuable experience and depth to the Indian team as she competes for her third individual ISSF medal.

Leading the global scene is World No.1 Samantha Simonton from the USA, who took gold in Lonato and earned silver in both the Lima and Nicosia World Cup stages. She will be accompanied by her fellow American Dania Jo Vizzi, ranked World No.3 and the Baku World Championship silver medallist. Vizzi has had an impressive season, winning gold in Buenos Aires, silver in Lonato, and bronze in Lima.

Also competing are World No.2 Arina Kuznetsova (AIN), the gold medallist from Nicosia and bronze medalist from Buenos Aires, and Greece's Emmanouela Katzouraki (World No.6), the bronze medallist from the Baku World Championship.

Veteran American sports legend Kimberly Rhode (World No.11), a six-time Olympian and three-time Olympic gold medallist, joins China's Jiang Yiting (World No.7), junior world record holder and Paris 2024 mixed team bronze medallist, to form a highly competitive women's field.

The skeet qualification rounds will begin at 11:30 am IST on October 10, with athletes shooting 50 targets each on Day 1 and Day 2, and then 25 targets on October 12. After completing a total of 125 targets, the six top shooters in both men's and women's categories will advance to the finals, scheduled for 5:30 pm IST (women's) and 7:00 pm IST (men's) on Sunday. There, the new World Champions will be crowned.

-- IANS

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