Discriminant Analysis of Performance Categories among National-level Rifle Shooters: Identifying Key Differentiators Between High and Low Performers

Abstract Aims: The aim of the study was to focus on differentiating performance levels among national-level rifle shooters using discriminant analysis. Method: Thirty national-level male rifle shooting players from India were selected as the subjects for the study. For the study physical and motor (static balance, balance, shoulder strength), physiological (breath holding capacity, heart rate, respiratory rate), anthropometric (height, weight, arm length, leg length, shoulder width), psychological (trait and state anxiety, locus of control, stress), foot morphological (length of foot, width of foot, heel width, heel girth) and shooting performance (score of players 60 rounds = 654) variables were used for the study. Quartile deviation was used to make the level of performance (Low & High). Results: The shooting performance data was categorized into two groups: Low Performance and High Performance based on quartile deviation. It was found that high and average performers exhibited greater shoulder strength (30) compared to low performers (26.37), while static balance (bass stick test crosswise) and balance (stork standing balance test) were notably higher in the high-performance group than in the low-performance groups. Variable like respiratory rate, STAI-1 anxiety, length of foot, heel width, heel girth was more or less similar Conclusion: The regression equation suggests that higher static balance scores, wider shoulders, and a higher locus of control are positively associated with better performance levels. Conversely, higher stress scores, wider feet, and wider heels are negatively associated with performance levels.