New Delhi,jun 28
Varun Tomar, a prominent Indian shooter who won a gold medal at the 2022 ISSF World Cup in Cairo, is poised to be one of the flagship players in the tournament and has expressed his excitement for the inaugural edition of the Shooting League of India (SLI).The first edition of the SLI is all set to kick off this year in Delhi.
Aiming to help push shooting as a sport further into the Indian and global mainstream and provide increased exposure to the shooters, the buzz surrounding the tournament is starting to spread among the athletes, with more than 400 athletes from within India, and around the world having registered to partake in the inaugural edition of the tournament. Considered one of the best young shooters in the country, he is most prominently known for his role in helping secure India a quota in the 2024 Paris Olympics by winning a gold medal in the 10m air pistol event at the Asian Olympics Qualifiers in Jakarta.The shooter praised the increased exposure the Shooting League of India would bring to shooters and said as quoted from a press release by SLI, “People would come to know us, and our personalities better, like we have seen with athletes from other sports like Neeraj Chopra, people would come to understand shooters more deepl.l”He also expressed his joy in playing in front of an Indian crowd, stating, “Playing in front of an Indian crowd, in front of my own people, brings in a different kind of feeling for me, it requires a different mentality and mindset. There exists this added desire to do well in such an environment.”
When asked if playing in India would bring about added pressure, he said, “Not pressure, but enthusiasm. “The 21-year-old also hoped that the league would help expand the shooting community further, saying, “Shooting is a great sport. India as a whole has a great shooting programme now and people also enjoy following the sport and our success.
