Bengal’s 10-metre air rifle shooter Mehuli Ghosh is likely to skip the forthcoming National Games due to a rifle problem, sources told The Telegraph on condition of anonymity.

She will leave for Munich from New Delhi on Saturday to resolve the nagging issue. Uttarakhand will host the 38th National Games from January 28.

“Yes, she is unlikely to play for Bengal in the National Games. She will be in Germany to find out what is wrong with her rifle,” a source said on Thursday. Mehuli did not respond to calls and messages from this newspaper.

Mehuli uses a Walther-made rifle and its workshop is in Ulm, a two-hour drive from Munich. It has been troubling her for quite some time and she wants to ensure that it does not act up again.

Mehuli’s scores in the last three rounds of the 10-metre air rifle were affected at the ongoing 67th National Shooting Championship Competitions in New Delhi. “The problem is internal,” the source added.

The 24-year-old 2018 Commonwealth Games silver medallist will be travelling alone to Munich. Once the rifle snag is rectified and if time permits she plans to participate in some European tournaments. Otherwise she will be seen in action during the selection trials to be held next month.

Mehuli had secured a 2024 Paris Olympics Games quota for India after finishing third in the 10m air rifle event at the ISSF World Championship 2023 in Baku, Azerbaijan, in August 2023. But her form nosedived last year and she failed to defend her quota place in the National Rifle Association-organised Olympic selection trials.

She seeks advice from 2012 Olympic Games medallist Gagan Narang whenever she needs and trains under coach Bibaswan Ganguly at the Pune facility of Narang’s Gun for Glory academy.

If Mehuli skips National Games it will be a blow to Bengal’s chances.

The Bengal Olympic Association is yet to release the full list of athletes who will represent the state in the National Games. Ayhika Mukherjee and Sutirtha Mukherjee, doubles bronze medallists in the 2023 Asian Games, will spearhead the table tennis team. The men’s football team failed to qualify since Bengal performed poorly in the 2023 Santosh Trophy.