ISSF World Championship: India Bags Gold and Two Silvers, But Olympic Quotas Slip Away
India secures gold and two silvers at the ISSF World Championship in Doha but misses crucial LA 2028 Olympic quotas in 10m air rifle.
India has made a strong start at the ISSF World Championship 2026 in Doha, Qatar, hauling in one gold and two silver medals on Tuesday. However, the celebration was tempered by a significant setback as the Indian contingent failed to secure any LA 2028 Olympic quotas in both the men's and women's 10m air rifle events.
Gold Glory in 50m Pistol
The highlight of the day came from the men's 50m pistol team event, where India climbed to the top of the podium. The trio of Ravinder Singh, Saurabh Chaudhary, and Amanpreet Singh displayed exceptional precision to secure the gold medal with a combined aggregate score of 1659-24x.
Breaking down the team's performance:
- Ravinder Singh: Led the charge with a score of 559-11x.
- Saurabh Chaudhary: Contributed 551-7x.
- Amanpreet Singh: Added 549-6x to the tally.
India's dominance in this event left China in second place (1648-26x) and the Republic of Korea in third (1643-26x). It is important to note, however, that the men's 50m pistol is not part of the Olympic shooting programme.
Individual Success for Ravinder Singh
Ravinder Singh continued his stellar form in the individual 50m pistol competition. He clinched the silver medal with a score of 559-11x, narrowly missing the top spot by just two points. The gold went to neutral athlete Anton Aristarkhov, who finished with 561-9x, while Romania's Luca Joldea took home the bronze with 558-5x.
Silver for Women's Air Rifle Team
The Indian women also found the podium in the 10m air rifle team event. Elavenil Valarivan, Sonam Maskar, and Shambhavi Kshirsagar combined for an aggregate of 1894.4 points to secure a silver medal. They were outperformed only by China, who took gold with 1899.8, while Japan finished third with 1892.6.
The Olympic Quota Heartbreak
Despite the medal haul, the primary objective of securing berths for the LA 2028 Olympics remained elusive in the 10m air rifle disciplines.
Women's 10m Air Rifle
Elavenil Valarivan was the sole Indian to reach the individual final after finishing third in the qualification round with 634.2 points. Other Indian shooters, Sonam Maskar (19th) and Shambhavi Kshirsagar (32nd), could not make the cut.
In the high-pressure final, Elavenil finished sixth with 167.3 points. To earn an Olympic quota for India, she would have needed a fourth-place finish. The gold was claimed by reigning Olympic champion Ban Hyojin of South Korea (253.1), followed by China's Han Jiayu (252.2) and Wang Zifei (231.0). Han Jiayu secured a quota for China, while France's Oceanne Muller took the third available quota by finishing fourth.
Men's 10m Air Rifle
The men's side faced a tougher outing, failing to reach the final which offered three LA 2028 quota places. Parth Mane was the top Indian performer, finishing 16th with 630.3 points. He was followed by Himanshu Dhillon in 41st place (628.1) and Paarth Makhija in 61st place (625.2).
The ISSF World Championship is scheduled to continue until November 14, with 36 LA 2028 Olympic quota places still up for grabs across 12 individual shooting events.