Two-time Olympian shooter Elavenil Valarivan, who recently made headlines by clinching the bronze at the ISSF World Cup in Munich, feels that the upcoming Shooting League of India (SLI), launched by the NRAI, will be a game-changer for the sport.

The inaugural season of the SLI will have a window between November 20 and December 2. The tournament will feature mixed team events in pistol (10m, 25m), rifle (10m, 50m, 3 positions), and shotgun (Trap & Skeet), as decided by the NRAI Technical Committee.

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A total of six to eight teams will feature in the competition and will be divided into two pools in the league stage. The selected players will be grouped into four tiers — Elite Champions, World Elite, National Champions, and Junior & Youth Championships — to provide a blend of experienced and emerging talents.

“It is a game-changing moment because this is something that is happening for the first time in our sport, and I am really looking forward to it. I am sure every athlete out there would be excited about the league,” said Elavenil, who set a new national qualification record, with a score of 635.9.

“The level of competition (in the league) is going to be very high and that would help us when we are unitedly competing against the other nations. This is going to be a really competitive environment and a good push to all the athletes,” the ace rifle shooter added.

Talking about the participation of overseas athletes, Elavenil said, “I have always been looking forward to learning from other athletes, and this would be a great chance to incorporate what they have been doing. Being part of one team makes it easier to share those ideologies. Younger and newer athletes will definitely learn a lot from the seniors. I am even looking forward to learn from all the other athletes.”

The Tamil Nadu shooter feels that SLI will provide a massive boost to the sport and will help shooting get more recognition.

“The league is definitely going to give a huge boost to shooting as a sport in the common public. When the league portrays the actual setup of the sport, I think it would be easier for the public to relate to the sport, and hopefully more athletes will be taking up the sport professionally,” she said.

“As it is going to be on such a wide scale and we are going to have foreign athletes in the team, so, I think this will definitely reach more to the young kids who are looking forward to the sport, to learn the sport, to get to know about it,” she concluded.