Three years after being crowned world champion, men’s 10m air rifle shooter Rudrankksh Patil will return to his favourite range in Cairo, aiming for more glory when the ISSF World Championships (Rifle/Pistol) begins on Saturday. India has sent a strong contingent for the prestigious event, with the likes of double Olympic bronze-medallist in Paris, pistol shooter Manu Bhaker, the immensely talented Suruchi Inder Singh, 50m rifle stalwart Anjum Moudgil and the reigning Asian champion in 50m rifle 3-positions Aishwary Pratap Singh Tomar being a part of the strong group.
However, Rudrankksh will be the marksman to watch, having made a huge impact at the 2022 World Championships in Cairo by becoming only the second Indian after Abhinav Bindra (2006, Zagreb) to win the 10m air rifle gold and showcase his exceptional talent. The Thane shooter, who was still a teenager when he became world champion, is now among the country’s leading 10m air rifle exponents.
After the disappointment of missing qualification for the Paris Olympics last year, he will be eager to reassert his dominance at a venue that has brought him immense success — having won the President’s Cup gold in 2022 and two top-podium finishes in the men’s individual and mixed team events at the 2023 ISSF World Cup. Rudrankksh had a great chance to defend his world championship title in 2023 but unfortunately the national shooting federation’s policy to earn maximum Olympic quota places for the country denied him the opportunity.
Besides Rudrankksh, Olympian Arjun Babuta too would be a strong contender in men’s 10m air rifle, given that he missed the Paris Olympics bronze by a fraction of a point. The men’s 50m rifle 3-positions event too has a strong Indian presence with Aishwary Pratap and Paris Olympics bronze medallist Swapnil Kusale in the mix, while the women’s 50m rifle 3-positions event too would provide a great chance for the likes of Sift Kaur Samra, Ashi Chouksey and Anjum Moudgil to excel.
Sift, following the terrible run she endured at the Paris Olympics, won gold in the ISSF World Cup in Buenos Aires earlier this year -- the first for the country in 2025 -- and she would be hoping to carry forward the form. Anjum, on the other hand, has gone slightly under the radar after her world championships silver in 2018 and the former world No.2 would be hoping for a turnaround in Cairo. Manu Bhaker, Suruchi and Esha Singh too form a potent trio in 10m air pistol and all three are capable of finishing on the podium.
Suruchi had pulled off a stunning upset by defeating Manu to win gold at the World Cup in Lima, Peru earlier this year. The win marked a significant milestone in the youngster’s career and signalled the arrival of a new shooting star on the international stage. With three individual World Cup gold and a top-podium finish in mixed team this year, Suruchi has by far been the most successful pistol shooter in the country and her rise to No.1 in the world only proves the point. The World Championships will begin on Saturday after the pre-event training on Friday.
Indian team:
Men: Air Rifle - Arjun Babuta, Rudrankksh Patil, Vishal Singh; 50m Rifle 3-P - Niraj Kumar, Aishwary Pratap Singh Tomar, Swapnil Kuslae; Air pistol - Shravan Kumar, Samrat Rana, Varun Tomar; 25m Rapid fire - Anish Bhanwala, Adarsh Singh, Sameer.
Women: Air Rifle - Elavenil Valarivan, Shreya Agrawal, Meghana Sajjanar; 50m Rifle 3-P - Sift Kaur Samra, Ashi Chouksey, Anjum Moudgil; Air pistol - Suruchi Singh, Esha Singh, Manu Bhaker; 25m Sports pistol - Manu Bhaker, Esha Singh, Rahi Sarnobat.
Mixed Team: Air rifle - Arjun Babuta-Elavenil Valarivan, Rudrankksh Patil-Shreya Agrawal; Air pistol - Shravan Kumar-Suruchi Singh, Samrat Rana-Esha Singh his boots in 2020. The ED also said it has detected 6,000 mule bank accounts (used to transact illicit money), searched four payment gateways that were used to route betting funds and identified 60 bank accounts linked to these platforms that hold deposits of more than Rs 4 crore.
Multiple police FIRs formed the basis for the federal agency to launch the probe against 1xBet and its surrogate brand, 1xBat. 1xBat sporting lines were engaged in promoting and facilitating illegal online betting and gambling operations across India, the agency has alleged. Registered in Curacao, 1xBet is stated by the portal to be a globally-recognised bookmaker with 18 years of experience in the betting industry.
According to the ED, “1xBet operated in India without authorisation and used surrogate branding and advertisements to target Indian users through social media, online videos and print media. Payments for endorsements were structured through layered transactions using foreign intermediaries to disguise the illegal source of funds.” The probe has found that 1xBet was “facilitating” betting and gambling for Indian users by collecting money through various mule accounts. The ED has alleged that merchants were onboarded on these gateways “without” any KYC verification.
“On verification of profiles of these merchants, it is seen that the entities declared business activities that did not match their transaction patterns, indicating laundering of funds exceeding Rs 1,000 crore,” the agency said. The ED also cautioned people against indulging in online betting and gambling.
Any person knowingly assisting or allowing his account to be used for such activities may be prosecuted under the PMLA, which provides for imprisonment up to seven years and attachment of assets derived from such illegal transactions, it said. The Centre, a few months ago, brought a law to ban real-money online gaming in India.
Apart from Dhawan and Raina, the ED has questioned sporting icons, such as Yuvraj Singh and Robin Uthappa, actors Sonu Sood, Urvashi Rautela (the Indian brand ambassador for 1xBet), Mimi Chakraborty (a former Trinamool Congress MP) and Ankush Hazra (Bengali actor) as part of the investigation.
According to estimates by market analysis firms and probe agencies undertaken before the government ban, there were about 22 crore Indian users on various such online betting apps and about 50 per cent of them were regular users. “ED reiterates that illegal betting and gambling not only cause economic harm but also facilitate money laundering and financing of unlawful activities,” the agency said.