Vision-impaired athletes are set to compete in their first World Shooting Para Sport tournament in Hannover ©World Shooting Para Sport

Vision-impaired (VI) athletes will compete in their first World Shooting Para Sport tournament after the organisation took over the governance of the discipline from the International Blind Sports Federation (IBSA).

The International Paralympic Committee approved the transfer of governance of VI shooting from the IBSA to World Shooting Para Sport in February. 

Twenty vision-impaired athletes will now participate at the competition, due to be held in Hannover from May 6 to 12.

Athletes with vision impairment can compete in air rifle events shot at 10 metre distances. 

Shooters use an audio signal to guide them in their aiming, with the audio signal rising in pitch as the point of aim moves nearer to the centre of the target.

Rio 2016 Paralympic Games silver medallist Natascha Hiltrop will head the German team at the International Shooting Competition ©Getty Images
Rio 2016 Paralympic Games silver medallist Natascha Hiltrop will head the German team at the International Shooting Competition ©Getty Images

More than 180 shooters from 30 nations are expected in Hannover. 

Rio 2016 Paralympic Games silver medallist Natascha Hiltrop will headline the host team that also includes Paralympians Bernhard Fendt, Norbert Gau, Josef Neumaier, Manuela Schmermund and Elke Seeliger.

Three-time Paralympic champion Veronika Vadovicova is set to represent Slovakia, having recently claimed world titles in Cheongju in South Korea.

The International Shooting Competition in Hannover will serve as preparation for October’s World Shooting Para Sport Championships in Sydney.