Shooting sports in the context of "Rifle"

Biathlon is a winter sport that combines cross-country skiing and rifle shooting. The sport of biathlon involves many different types of races, with the commonality being contestants skiing through a cross-country trail whose distance is divided into shooting rounds called bouts. The shooting rounds do not have a time limit, but depending on the competition, missed shots result in extra distance or time being added to the contestant's total.

A bullet is a kinetic projectile, a component of firearm ammunition that is shot from a gun barrel. They are made of a variety of materials, such as copper, lead, steel, polymer, rubber and even wax; and are made in various shapes and constructions (depending on the intended applications), including specialized functions such as hunting, target shooting, training, and combat. Bullets are often tapered, making them more aerodynamic. Bullet size is expressed by weight and diameter (referred to as "caliber") in both imperial and metric measurement systems. Bullets do not normally contain explosives but strike or damage the intended target by transferring kinetic energy upon impact and penetration.

Shooting is the act or process of discharging a projectile from a ranged weapon (such as a gun, bow, crossbow, slingshot, or blowpipe). Even the acts of launching flame, artillery, darts, harpoons, grenades, rockets, and guided missiles can be considered acts of shooting. When using a firearm, the act of shooting is often called firing as it involves initiating a combustion (deflagration) of chemical propellants.

Shooting can take place in a shooting range or in the field, in shooting sports, hunting, or in combat. The person involved in the shooting activity is called a shooter. A skilled, accurate shooter is a marksman or sharpshooter, and a person's level of shooting proficiency is referred to as their marksmanship.

Tan Zongliang (Chinese: 谭宗亮; pinyin: Tán Zōngliàng; born November 29, 1971) is a male Chinese sports shooter who competed at five consecutive Olympics from 1996 to 2012. He has won two consecutive ISSF World Shooting Championships in 50 metre pistol: in 2002 in Lahti and in 2006 in Zagreb. At the 2008 Summer Olympics, he won the bronze medal in the same event, a medal that was upgraded to silver after Kim Jong-su's disqualification for use of the banned drug, propranolol.

Montenegro competed as an independent nation for the first time at the Olympic Games at the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing, People's Republic of China. Montenegro was the youngest nation to participate in the 2008 Summer Olympics.Athletes from Montenegro participated in three different events. In individual events, the new nation had representatives in boxing and shooting. Boxer Milorad Gajović represented his country in the heavyweight division, while Nikola Šaranović competed in 10 m air pistol and 50 m pistol precision shooting events. In team competition, Montenegro competed in water polo. The Montenegro national water polo team won the 2007 European Water Polo Olympic Qualification Tournament to qualify for the Olympic games.

Montenegro failed to win any medals, but did advance to the bronze medal match in men's water polo, where they lost to Serbia, 6–4.

Serbia competed at the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing, People's Republic of China. The country returned under the name Serbia after 96 years, previously competing under the names Yugoslavia (1920–1988), Independent Olympic Participants (1992), Yugoslavia (1996–2002) and Serbia and Montenegro (2004–2006).

The flag on the opening ceremony was held by shooter Jasna Šekarić, who has won five medals in her five previous Olympic appearances.

Randhir Singh (born 18 October 1946) is an Indian sports administrator and former sports shooter. Singh is noted as one of India's most influential sports administrators. He has held several positions in both Indian and international sports governing bodies, and also had a successful shooting career before retiring from the sport in 1994. Singh began his sports administration career in 1984.

Singh has been serving as the President of the Olympic Council of Asia (OCA) since September 2024, and was previously the Acting President of the OCA from September 2021. His other roles in international sports administration include being a member of the IOC from 2001 to 2014; since 2014, he has been an honorary member of the IOC. He had also served as the Secretary General of the OCA from 1991 to 2015. In domestic sports administration, his roles have included being the Secretary General of the Indian Olympic Association (IOA) from 1987 to 2012 and a member of the governing board of the Sports Authority of India from 1987 to 2010. Singh's role was crucial in bringing the 2010 Commonwealth Games to Delhi.

Shooting sports have been included at every Summer Olympic Games since the birth of the modern Olympic movement at the 1896 Summer Olympics except at the 1904 and 1928 games.