As the year's first shooting World Cup begins in New Delhi on Friday, here's a primer on some of the major events that Indians will be participating in:
10m Air Rifle men/women
Date of event: February 24
Indians to watch out for: Apurvi Chandela, Pooja Ghatkar
Athletes shoot at the target 10m (33 feet) away from them in a standing position using an air rifle. The event is divided into two rounds. In the qualification round, an athlete has to shoot 60 shots in 75 minutes in the men's event, while the women shoot 40 shots in 50 minutes. The maximum score per shot is 10.9. The top eight athletes then qualify for the final round comprising up to 24 shots - beginning with two series of 5 shots each in 250 seconds, and 14 single shots within 50 seconds. This is followed by an elimination of the bottom two post the twelfth shot, after which athletes are eliminated at the end of every two shots.
Trap men/women
Date of event: February 24-25
Indians to watch out for: Kynan Chenai, Seema Tomar
Athletes, one-by-one, shoot at orange clay targets ejected from a trap located in front of them from five different stations which sends them out in different directions from ground. In the qualification round, the men's event involves 125 targets, divided in five rounds of 25 targets each. The women's event consists of 75 targets, divided in three rounds of 25 each. The top six athletes move to the semifinal round, where the athletes shoot 15 targets each from five stations. The same rules are applicable for the final round wherein the top two athletes qualify for the Gold medal match, while the 3rd and 4th athletes participate in the Bronze medal match.
25m Rapid Fire Pistol men
Date of event: February 24-25
Indians to watch out for: Gurpreet Singh, Harpreet Singh
Participants shoot over a distance of 25m (82 feet) in a standing position using an air pistol. During the qualification round, every 25m Rapid Fire Pistol competitor has to fire 60 shots: two identical stages of 30 shots, divided in six series of five shots each. The top six athletes qualify for the final round consisting of eight five-shot series - the first four series to be shot in four seconds each, after which the first elimination takes place. This continues till the end of each series, until the medallists are decided.
50m Rifle 3 Positions men/women
Date of event: February 26, 27
Indians to watch out for: Sanjeev Rajput, Lajja Gauswami, Chain Singh
Athletes shoot over a distance of 50m (164 feet) in kneeling, prone and standing positions. In the qualification round, the men fire 40 kneeling, 40 prone and 40 standing shots within 2 hours and 45 minutes; the women must fire 20 kneeling, 20 prone and 20 standing shots within an hour and 45 minutes. The top eight athletes advance to the final round comprising 45 shots -- three series of 5 shots in the kneeling position in 200 seconds, three series of 5 shots in the prone position in 150 seconds, and two series of 5 shots in the standing position. The bottom two athletes are then eliminated, post which the final five single shots are fired in 50 seconds. The eliminations continue after every shot till the medalists are decided.
10m Air Pistol men/women
Date of event: February 26, 28
Indians to watch out for: Jitu Rai, Heena Sidhu, Prakash Nanjappa
Participants shoot at the target over a distance of 10m (33 feet) in a standing position, the competition made up of two rounds. In the qualification round, an athlete must shoot 60 shots in 75 minutes in the men's event, while the women shoot 40 shots in 50 minutes -- the maximum score per shot being 10.9. The top eight athletes then qualify for the final round comprising up to 24 shots - beginning with two series of 5 shots in 250 seconds, and 14 single shots within 50 seconds. This is followed by an elimination of the bottom two after the twelfth shot, post which athletes are eliminated at the end of every two shots.
50m Rifle Prone men
Date of event: February 28
Indians to watch out for: Chain Singh, Sanjeev Rajput, Gagan Narang
An athlete shoots over a distance of 50m in prone position. In the qualification round, the athletes fire 60 shots within 50 minutes, the maximum score per shot being 10.9. The top eight men then move to the final round, where they can shoot up to 24 final shots -- two series of 5 shots are fired in 150 seconds, followed by 14 single in 30 seconds. The twelfth shot is followed by the first elimination, which then continues after every two shots till the top two are decided.
50m Pistol men
Date of event: March 1
Indians to watch out for: Jitu Rai, Prakash Nanjappa
Athletes shoot over a distance of 50m in a standing position. In the qualification round, the athletes have to fire 60 shots in 90 minutes, the maximum score per shot being 10 points. The top eight qualify for the final round where each athlete can shoot up to 24 shots -- two series of 5 shots in 250 seconds, followed by 14 in 50 seconds. The first elimination takes place after the twelfth shot, which continue after every two shot till the winners are decided.
Skeet men/women
Date of event: March 1-2
Indians to watch out for: Mairaj Ahmad Khan
Participants shoot at orange clay targets ejected - from eight different stations - from two trap houses located at the left and right end of the range, one high, one low. In the qualification round, the men's event involves 125 targets, divided in five rounds of 25 targets each. The women's event consists of 75 targets, divided in three rounds of 25 each. The top six athletes move to the semifinal round, where the athletes shoot 16 targets each from four stations. The final round comprises 16 targets from three stations wherein the top two athletes qualify for the Gold medal match, while the 3rd and 4th athletes participate in the Bronze medal match.