New Delhi, Sep 23 : The next generation of shooting talent across 15 Olympic events and 2 non-Olympic events will be competing in the ISSF Junior World Cup Rifle/Pistol/Shotgun at the Dr. Karni Singh Shooting Range here from September 24 to October 2.

The stage is all set for the mega event, which will bring together 208 young shooters from 18 countries, showcasing the young talent who will be fighting it out for a total of 51 medals at stake.

The host nation, India, will lead the field with a strong contingent of 69 athletes, while other participating nations include the United States of America (20), Italy (10), Czechia (9), Islamic Republic of Iran (8), Croatia (7), Great Britain (6), United Arab Emirates (5), Slovakia (5), Qatar (4), Oman (4), Spain (8), Finland (3), Netherlands (3), Cyprus (3), New Zealand (2), Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (2), along with 40 Individual Neutral Athletes (AIN).

The athletes from the United States, Great Britain, Italy, and Cyprus have arrived at the range and conducted an unofficial training session on Tuesday.

This will be the second and final World Cup for Juniors this year, following the first event hosted in Suhl, Germany, earlier this year in May, where India finished on top of the medals table with 11 medals, including 3 gold, 4 silver, and 4 bronze.

Among the notable names to watch will be Olympia and Suhl silver medallist Raiza Dhillon, former world champion Abhinav Shaw, Suhl gold medallists Shambhavi Kshirsagar and Tejaswani, and bronze medallist from the same World Cup, Naraen Pranav and Adriyan Karmakar, among others.

World Championship medallist Arianna Nimber from Italy, along with her countrymen Marco Coco, Matteo Bragalli, and Luca Gerri, will be in action at the shotgun range, along with Trap shooter from Croatia, Toni Gudelj, who won the bronze medal at the Suhl Junior World Cup.

The opening ceremony of the World Cup will take place on Thursday at the Dr. Karni Singh Shooting Range at 5 PM. The competition will get underway on the same day with the 50m Rifle Prone events in both men's and women's categories, which will also decide the first medalists of the World Cup.

/IANS