New Delhi: Last month, ISSF, the global governing body for shooting sport, announced key changes for the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics cycle. These include increasing the number of finalists in the 25m pistol and shotgun events from six to eight and restricting the current 45-shot final of the 50m rifle 3 Positions event to only the Standing segment, dropping Prone and Kneeling.

While increasing the number of finalists in shotgun and 25m pistol events brings uniformity — all other individual events have eight shooters in the medal round — the catch lies in the 50m 3P tweak.

Considered the marathon of shooting events, the 3P event has undergone changes in each of the past three Olympic cycles. The reasons are not tough to fathom. The sporting world is struggling to bring audience to the arenas, and with broadcast money being the only significant revenue stream, sport as a product is staring at an existential crisis.

Most sports have hence resorted to format tweaks. Hockey5s, 3X3 basketball, T20 cricket are all manifestations of governing bodies desperately trying to keep their sports relevant in an age of shrinking attention span.

“In a perfect world it would have been ideal to retain all three positions, but the obstacles for good TV coverage were onerous,” ISSF said in an email response to HT. “Everybody appreciates that the medals here are decided in the Standing position, where jeopardy and scoring differential are most evident. The Standing final will make the experience broadcast- and media-friendly.”

While ISSF is yet to come out with its latest rulebook, it is keen to introduce air rifle-style 24-shot final in the 3P discipline. “It is proposed that the new 3P final will follow the same basic format as the 10m air rifle event, at 24 shots to the gold medal and at around 30 minutes duration. Since Paris 2024, the 10m air events continue to be the most popular shooting events for Olympic TV audiences,” ISSF said.

For India, the change is likely to be a welcome step. “I feel it’s a good move. Earlier, the final was of 45 shots across three positions which was boring and time-consuming for spectators. No spectator has the time to sit for 1.5-2 hours to watch a final,” three-time Olympian Sanjeev Rajput said.

Rajput’s India career saw multiple changes in 3P, and adjusting to new formats was never easy. He started when the 3x40 qualification format was around, and the order was Prone, Standing and Kneeling — it’s Kneeling, Prone, Standing now — with a 10-minute changeover in between. The shooters had to finish the qualification round in two hours and 45 minutes before moving to a 10-shot standing final with qualifying scores carried forward.

Then the Standing final gave way to a 3x15 decider with no qualification points added. The 120-shot (3x40) qualification was also replaced with 60 shots (3x20), packed into 90 minutes.

As the format began to be crunched, Rajput found it tough to reset. “Shooting is all about rhythm and breath control. For people like me who had great stamina, shortening the format was a drawback because usually we would start slow and make up as the competition progressed. The meditative stage that we would slowly get into was no longer feasible,” he said.

“Each format has its own challenges,” said national rifle coach Deepali Deshpande. “The Standing final was not easy either, which is why nobody in the world could ever shoot a perfect 600/600. I quite liked the 45-shot final as it tested you in all three positions.”

Deshpande says the change will help Indian shooters. “Most of our shooters are good in Standing. At the Olympics, Swapnil Kusale started to come up only in the Standing position. Sift (Kaur Samra) is also very good in Standing.”

The shooters agree. “It will take some time to adjust because earlier we had time to manage the tension and adrenaline. But since most of us enjoy Standing, we should be fine,” said World Championships medallist Anjum Moudgil.

For Rajput, now a coach, the criterion to judge shooters will need a bit of tweaking too. “As a coach, my prerogative now is to look for shooters who are good at shooting 24 standing shots, not three positions. Earlier, we would reduce the changeover time in the final to accommodate more sighting shots, but those tactical nuances cannot be done anymore.”

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