Axis Bank & Lakshya Shooting Club Proudly Inaugurate High Performance Centre For Shooting At Navi Mumbai To Bolster India's Olympic Shooting Ambitions

Mumbai, October 21, 2026: Axis Bank, one of the largest private sector banks in India, and Lakshya Shooting Club today inaugurated the Axis Bank Lakshya Shooting Club High Performance Centre at CBD Belapur, Navi Mumbai. The Centre aims to act as a world-class, completely para-inclusive hub for training, sports science, nutrition & medicine, and comprehensive athlete development programme to identify and nurture India’s talent in shooting and provide a world class training and coaching platform for India’s top shooters to prepare for greater success at the Olympic level.

The Lakshya Shooting Club, established by Indian Olympian and former national shooting coach Suma Shirur in 2006, has spent two decades scouting and developing India’s shooting talent, with its athletes achieving success at the national and international levels, including the Olympic and Paralympic Games, the Asian Games, Commonwealth Games and the World Championships. Its success stories include Avani Lekhara, a three-time Paralympic medallist with gold medals at Tokyo 2020 and Paris 2024, and Parth Mane, Junior World Champion in 2024 and team silver medallist at the Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games 2026.

The new 6-storey Centre builds on this deep expertise and experience, housing two dedicated 10-metre shooting ranges, strength and conditioning facilities, biomechanics assessment, physiotherapy, sports psychology, nutrition support, recovery spaces and residential facilities under a single roof.

The Centre adopts a focused athlete-development structure encompassing Elite Residency, Day Scholar and Development programmes providing distinct pathways for athletes at different stages of their journey. While the Centre shall primarily focus on elite athletes preparing for international competition, Lakshya’s wider network of centres shall continue to feed and nurture emerging talent.

By combining best-in-class coaching with scientific assessment and individualised athlete support, the Centre aims to prepare shooters for the technical, physical and psychological demands of global competition.

Speaking on the occasion, Vijay Mulbagal, Group Head – Wholesale Bank Coverage, Corporate Salary, Sustainability & CSR, Axis Bank, said, “Shooting has been one of India’s most successful Olympic sports and a source of immense national pride. While our shooters are already making their mark globally, the potential to achieve even greater success is tremendous. Through our partnership with Lakshya Shooting Club, we are committed to providing aspiring and elite athletes with access to world-class infrastructure, coaching and technical support. Our ambition is to help create an environment where talent can thrive, champions can be nurtured, and India’s shooting excellence can continue to scale new heights. We hope this Centre will contribute meaningfully to India’s sporting success for many years to come.”

Suma Shirur, Founder and High Performance Director, Lakshya Shooting Club, said, “When we started Lakshya in 2006, we had a simple dream: to give shooters the opportunities, guidance and support they needed to realise their potential. Over the years, seeing athletes we have worked with win Paralympic gold medals and world titles has been deeply fulfilling. It has also reinforced our belief that talent needs the right ecosystem to flourish. “

This Centre is the next chapter of that journey. For me, it is much more than a building or a set of world-class facilities. It is about creating an environment where our best athletes can prepare to take on the world, where every aspect of their performance is supported, and where the dream of an Olympic medal feels within reach. We are deeply grateful to Axis Bank for partnering with us in bringing this vision to life.”

Notably, the Centre is a green-certified building, built to high sustainability standards to ensure energy and resource efficiency.

About Lakshya Shooting Club

Established in 2006 by Olympian Suma Shirur, Lakshya Shooting Club is dedicated to identifying, developing and supporting shooting talent in India. Over two decades, the Club has built a network of training centres and athlete-development programmes, supporting shooters from grassroots participation through to elite international competitions. Its athletes and alumni have achieved success at the Paralympic Games, Youth Olympic Games, World Championships, World Cups and Asian Championships. The Axis Bank Lakshya Shooting Club High Performance Centre represents the next phase of its mission to strengthen India’s pursuit of excellence in shooting sport.

Published on: Wednesday, October 21, 2026, 09:11 PM IST