Gagan Narang inaugurates shooting championship in Noida

Padmashree and Olympic medallist Gagan Narang on Saturday inaugurated the 3rd All India Digvijay Singh Memorial Air Rifle/Air Pistol Championship 2017 at Noida's Billabong High International School.

The Championship will run from Nov 11 to November 14 and has already seen more than 480 registrations from all over India.

Olympian P.N. Prakash is expected to take the field on Tuesday as well.

The championship is being organied by the UP State Rifle Assocaition and conducted by the National Rifle Association of India (NRAI), the governing body of the Shooting sport in India.

Speaking on the occasion, Rifle ace Gagan Narang, who recently returned after winning silver at the Commonwealth Shooting Championships in Brisbane, Australia, said, "It is really exciting to see Shooting spreading its wings in this country and schools slowly but surely embracing the sport. It is from schools that Olympic champions of tommorw will emerge. I commend Billabong High in taking this initiative to host the 3rd All India Digvijay Singh Memorial Air Rifle/Air Pistol Championship and I am very happy to be here and see students excited to know about the sport."

"Shooting is a game of focus and precision. We're delighted to host this championship and set encouraging examples for young shooters to take up the sport enthusiastically and excel in it. We wish all the best to all the participants," said Parmjit Gandhi, chairman of Billabong High International School, Noida.

The tournament is open to ISSF shooters and the qualifiers of 61st NSCC. The matches of this competition will follow rules set by ISSF Air Rifle Qualification (non-decimal) as they will be played on paper targets. According to these rules, the key element of this tournament clearly outlines that participants of the Rifle category cannot participate in the Pistol category and vice versa.

Winner of this Championship (Pistol/Rifle) will be awarded cash prizes of Rs 50,000 for Gold medalists, Rs 30,000 for the Silver medalists and Rs 20,000 for Bronze medalists, sponsored by Billabong High International School Noida.