Anjali Bhagwat, Abhinav Bindra and Rajyavardhan Singh, who have already sealed quota places in the 2004 Athens Olympic Games, will lead the Indian challenge in the shooting competition at the inaugural Afro-Asian Games starting in Hyderabad on October 24.
Bhagwat, 34, who won the 10m air rifle gold at the World Cup Final in Milan, Italy, earlier this week with 502.4 points to add to her World Cup gold medal at Fort Benning in the US in May, will once again clash with China's Gao Jing and Korea's Park Un Kyong, who claimed the silver and bronze medals, respectively.
The Indian had settled for minor positions at the Asian Games in Busan last year, but has already left her younger rivals in her wake. Even before the Milan effort, she was ranked sixth in the world with 967 points, well clear of the 19 year-old Korean (twentieth with 311 points) and the 28 year-old Chinese (twenty-second with 300).
Bindra, 21, who finished last among the 10 contestants in the 10m air rifle final at the World Cup Final in Milan with 590 points, will be eager to leave that setback behind when he takes aim in Hyderabad.
Ranked eighth in the world before the event last week, he is expected to face tough competition from China's 26 year-old Cai Yalin, a member of the gold medal-winning team at the Asian Games, and Egypt's Ismail Mohammed.
Rajyavardhan Singh Rathore, who is ranked fourth in the world in the double trap event, will be in the vanguard of India's bid to do well in the clay target events.
Though entries in the clay target events have not been confirmed, the 33 year-old may face competition from world number three Ahmed Al-Makhtoum of the United Arab Emirates.
Jaspal Rana will seek to relaunch his winning ways in the 25m centrefire pistol and 25m standard pistol events where the respective Asian Games silver medallists Lee Sang Hak (Korea) and Liu Guohui (China) have already clinched Olympic quota places.
In the men's 10m air pistol, upcoming Indian youngster Ronak Pandit (ranked 67th) will square up against No 2 Tan Zongliang (China) and No 16 Vladimir Guchsha (Kazakhstan). Pandit will also compete in the 25m rapidfire pistol where he will be up against No 5 Lee Sang Hak (Korea) and No 16 Ji Haiping (China).
Deepali Deshpande, who has missed the Olympic quota on a couple of occasions in the air pistol and sports rifle events, will be fielded in the rifle events in Hyderabad where world No 2 Olga Dovgun of Kazakhstan, Asian Games gold medallist in the sports rifle three positions event, will be the favourite.
Sushma Rana, who will vie for honours in the women's 25m sports pistol, will take on Asian Games gold medallist Chen Ying (China) and bronze medallist Otryad Gundegmaa (Mongolia).
