Higher chances of winning a medal compared with other sports have led to an increased interest in rifle shooting among school students, said officials in schools that offer the sport.

Several schools that have introduced sessions in rifle shooting are receiving a good response from parents and students.

The Heritage School, The Newtown School, Delhi Public School Megacity and La Martiniere for Boys are some of the institutions that have a rifle shooting range and offer the sport to its students.

At St Thomas’ Church School, Howrah, a range was inaugurated on December 8 and about 400 students from Class VI upwards have already shown interest in learning the sport.

At The Heritage School, the demand far exceeds the number of slots the school offers in rifle shooting.

“We offer rifle shooting from Class IV onwards and we cannot accommodate more than 20 to 25 students per class. But a far higher number of students want to learn the sport," said Sunil Singh, sports coordinator at The Heritage School.

At The Newtown School, the range is open to outsiders after school hours.

“Sports like these are getting more recognition and traction because of the high chances of students winning a medal at various levels. In conventional sports like cricket and football, competition is very tough and it is difficult to excel. But there is a greater chance of winning a medal in rifle shooting and that has created aspirations among parents and students,” said Sunil Agarwal, founder- director, The Newtown School.

Singh said the availability of a shooting range on the school campus has made the sport more accessible to the students. “Parents want their children to pursue a sport and win a medal in it. But not everyone can afford to train on their own,” said Singh.

Delhi Public School Megacity renovated the range last year to accommodate more students.

St Thomas’ Church School, Howrah, conducts two-hour training sessions thrice a week.

“A preliminary screening is being held and 120 students have so far been shortlisted out of 400. We have seen an interest in the sport among our parents and students. Why should opportunities be limited to students on the other side of the river (Calcutta)? We want to give equal opportunities to our students as well,” said principal P.C. Daniels.

The Council for the Indian School Examinations (CISCE), which conducts the ISC and ICSE exams, has included rifle shooting as a competitive sport in its national games.

“The CISCE started sports and games championships in 2018 and rifle shooting has been part of the event since inception. We have seen a steady interest in the sport over the years,” said Arijit Basu, CISCE deputy secretary (finance) with additional responsibility for sports and games.

“After competing at the CISCE nationals, our students compete against those from other boards nationally. One of our champions, Rudrankksh Patil from Mumbai, played a world championship. His performance has created both awareness and aspirations among parents,” said Basu.

La Martiniere for Boys, which inaugurated a range last year, hosted the regional level CISCE rifle shooting championship in July, acting principal John Stephen said.