India have qualified 10 shooters for the Tokyo 2020 Paralympics and are optimistic of winning four medals ©PCI

Indian national coach J.P. Nautiyal believes the country could win four shooting medals at next month’s Paralympic Games in Tokyo.

India are set to send a 10-member shooting team to the Paralympic Games, comprised of eight men and two women.

The men’s team includes Manish Narwal, Singhraj, Deepender Singh, Deepak, Sidhartha Babu, Swaroop Mahavir Unhalkar, Akash and Rahul Jakhar.

Avani Lekhara and Rubina Francis will be India’s representatives in women’s events.

The team is undergoing final preparations at the Dr. Karni Singh Shooting ranges in New Delhi.

Nautiyal has expressed confidence that the shooting squad can achieve medal success at the Games, which were delayed until 2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

"It’s a balanced team with young and senior players and many of them are coming out with excellent scores in the training that has been ongoing since last month," Nautiyal said.

"It has been a great journey for the entire team who have shown great results in the last few years.

"Many of them also have good temperament to pull off good results in the finals.

"Everyone is working very hard and staying focused.

"And I am confident that they will produce good results.

"I am expecting at least four medals including gold from the team."

The Indian team are completing final preparations at the Dr. Karni Singh Shooting ranges ©PCI
The Indian team are completing final preparations at the Dr. Karni Singh Shooting ranges ©PCI

Nautiyal is overseeing the preparation of the team along with national coach Subhash Rana.

The Paralympic Committee of India (PCI) said it was the first time 10 Indian shooters had qualified for the Paralympic Games.

The team are preparing with six-hours of training each day.

These include physical and mental training, live shooting and dry firing, as well as strengthening and stretching exercises.

Nautiyal warned India will face competition to win medals from athletes representing Iran, Ukraine, China, Slovakia and Russia.

"A lot of countries have been doing very well in the recent past, especially Ukraine and Russia," said Nautiyal.

"Tokyo 2020 will definitely be challenging.

"But my biggest worry is keeping the team safe and healthy in this COVID-19 situation.

"A lot of factors including mental strength will play an important role on the day."

 The PCI has confirmed it has also submitted three athletes to the IPC for consideration for bipartite qualification places.