NEWS » capitalising on it did not quite work out, as

India will be sending their biggest ever shooting contingent to the upcoming Olympics, with 12 shooters hoping to hit the mark in Rio. Naturally, expectations are high. The man of the moment is pistol shooter Jitu Rai, who has shown consistency in the run up to the Games, making the finals of various events. Around him, he will have a considerable breadth of experience to tap into, with Abhinav Bindra, Gagan Narang and Manavjit Sandhu completing a strong group of shooters with experience, raw talent and form. A podium finish from one of the three women in the contingent is not unrealistic either.?The teamMen:Abhinav Bindra - 10m air rifleGagan Narang - 50m rifle 3 positions, 50m rifle prone, 10m air rifleJitu Rai - 50m pistol, 10m air pistolChain Singh - 50m rifle 3 positions, 50m rifle proneGurpreet Singh - 25m rapid fire pistol, 10m air pistolPrakash Nanjappa - 50m pistolManavjit Singh Sandhu - TrapKynan Chenai - TrapMairaj Ahmad Khan - SkeetWomen:Apurvi Chandela - 10m air rifleAyonika Paul - 10m air rifleHeena Sidhu - 10m air rifle, 25m pistolThe key datesAugust 6-14How they got thereThe shooters won Olympic quotas in the respective events after making the cut at several Olympic qualifiers including the 2014 and 2015 ISSF World Championships, the 2015 ISSF World Cup series, and other designated Continental Championships till the cut-off date of March 31, 2016.What they sayJitu Rai:I first heard about Olympics, I think it was the one in Athens in 2004, when I was in school. But I wasnt sure what it meant. Though I watched Vijay Kumars 2012 London Olympics silver-medal match online, I felt no emotion. Maybe because I had no idea about what an Olympic medal represents and no love for shooting. Over time, the magnitude of Olympics slowly began to sink in and now its my biggest dreamAyonika Paul:The preparations for the Olympics are going just as planned and I am happy about it. Its all about how we handle the pressure.ExtrasThis will be Bindras final outing at professional shooting as the Olympic gold-medallist has announced his retirement after the conclusion of the Olympics.Despite winning a Rio quota with a fourth-place finish in the 50m Rifle 3 positions event at the Asian shooting championship in February this year, Sanjeev Rajput missed a shot at his third Olympic appearance after the National Rifle Association of India (NRAI) picked trap shooter Manavjit Singh Sandhu over him citing his consistent scores in the selection trials.Indias track record*Abhinav Bindra won a gold medal at the 2008 Beijing Olympics in the 10m air rifle event, becoming the first Indian to achieve the feat in an individual event.*Rajyavardhan Rathore became the first Indian shooter to win a medal after he won silver at the 2004 Athens Olympics in the double trap event.*India won two medals in shooting at the 2012 London Olympics. While Vijay Kumar won silver in the 25m rapid fire pistol event, Gagan Narang won a bronze in 10m air rifle. Shoes Clearance Sale Ireland . -- If this was Aaron Gordons final home game at Arizona, and it almost certainly was, then he went out in style. Cheap Shoes Ireland Online .ca NBA Power Rankings, ahead of the Miami Heat and San Antonio Spurs. http://www.clearanceshoesireland.com/ . PETERSBURG, Fla. Shoes Sale Ireland Online . The parade and rally were held to celebrate the Saskatchewan Roughriders 45-23 win over the Hamilton Tiger-Cats on Sunday in the CFLs championship game. Shoes Outlet Ireland . Jim Rutherford, President and General Manager of the Carolina Hurricanes, announced Wednesday that the team would assign Swedish forward Elias Lindholm to his nations team for the upcoming tournament. Former Asian Games gold medalist Vikas Krishan gave Indias boxing campaign in Rio the perfect starting, as he beat USAs Charles Conwell to enter the pre-quarterfinals.?Vikas, 24, defeated the debutant Conwell 3-0 in his opening contest, which came alive only in the final three minutes. Conwell, who walked in to hostile boos from the local crowd, struggled to launch an attack on the Indian in the opening round. Vikas, on the other hand, used his right straights and upper cuts to good effect in the first three minutes.?Vikas dropped his guard quite early in the bout but Conwells attempts at capitalising on it did not quite work out, as he landed into a well-laid trap by Vikas, who was more than happy to counterattack.?Vikas seemed more assured in the second round and concentrated on breaking down Conwells defence by targeting his torso.ddddddddddddAlthough the judges were divided in awarding the round to him, Vikas had done enough to secure himself the handy lead going into the final round.After fetching two cautions for bending excessively in the first two rounds, Conwell gathered himself in the final three minutes to land a couple of crisp jabs but his effort was too little too late The final round ended up being tied between the two boxers, but Vikas emerged triumphant on the back of his strong showing in the first two rounds.Vikas will now face Turkeys Sipal Onder on Saturday.?Meanwhile, former Commonwealth Games gold-medalist Manoj Kumar will open his campaign against Lithuanias Evaldas Petrauskas on Wednesday.? ' ' '