Shooting junior world championship: Chandigarh DAV College student picked for Indian squad

Around 370 shooters from 32 nations are participating in the shooting junior world championship to be held at Lima in Peru

Zeena Khitta, the daughter of an apple farmer, will be part of the Indian contingent that will compete in the upcoming junior world championship (rifle/pistol/shotgun) at Lima, Peru, starting September 27.

Zeena Khitta (right) with her coach Suma Sharoor. (HT PHOTO)

A third-year student at DAV College, Sector 10, Zeena will be taking part in the 10m air rifle event. Ranked number one in the junior category in India, 20-year-old Zeena trained hard at the Indian shooting camp conducted at Karni Singh Shooting Ranges in New Delhi under coach Suma Sharoor.

Around 370 shooters from 32 nations are participating in this championship.

Hailing from Rohru in Himachal Pradesh, Zeena was 14 when she decided to pursue air rifle shooting. She first impressed when she clinched a gold in the Khelo India Youth Games in 2018 in the 10m air rifle event. Thereafter, she bagged a gold at the Junior World Cup in Sydney, Australia, in the same event. She stunned some of the top shooters from the country and snatched gold in the 10m air rifle event with an impressive score of 251.3.

Aiming to do well at Lima, Peru, Zeena is pumped up and raring for a podium-finish. “I have trained well in the national camp and now want to do well in Lima, Peru. As China is not sending their shooters for the championship, Indian shooters will face good competition from USA and European shooters,” said Zeena, who is also eyeing a spot in the Indian senior shooting team.