Jaypal Malviya wins silver and secures India's first LA 2028 shooting quota at the ISSF World Championships
Manu Bhaker and Suruchi Singh finish fifth and sixth
India win silver in the women's team event
India opened its account in the race for shooting berths at the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics, with Jaypal Malviya delivering a breakthrough performance to win silver in the men's 10m air pistol at the ISSF World Championships on Thursday.
The Madhya Pradesh shooter finished runner-up in the eight-member final with 242.2 points, earning India its first Olympic quota place at the ongoing championships. China's Kai Hu took the world title with 243.9 points, while Jindrich Dubovy of Czechia secured third place with 220.9.
Malviya's achievement came after he qualified for the final in third position, having accumulated 585 points over six rounds. The 10m air pistol competition is among the first events at the championships to offer qualification places for the Los Angeles Games.
The Indian started the final with a score of 50.5 in the opening five shots. His series included a 9.2, but he recovered with a 10.6 on his last attempt to remain among the leading contenders, sitting third behind Hu.
The subsequent stages saw Malviya briefly lose ground. He moved down to fourth after adding 100.0 points to his tally, with Dubovy edging ahead on 100.5. The Chinese contingent continued to dictate the pace through Hu and Yu Xie.
However, Malviya refused to drop out of contention. He produced a 10.7 at a crucial juncture as Islam Shamsutdinov failed to match the leading scores and exited the final. Another 10.7 from the Indian, alongside Hu's 10.9, brought the gap between them to just 0.5 points.
As the elimination rounds progressed, Malviya had secured a place on the podium and was firmly challenging for the gold. A 9.7 momentarily widened the deficit to 0.9 points, but he responded with a 10.7.
Dubovy eventually finished third, leaving Malviya with the silver medal and an Olympic quota for India.
Reflecting on his performance, the youngster acknowledged the role played by the spectators and the organisations that had supported his journey.
"The environment is great. The crowd was very loud and motivated me. I would like to thank the federation, SAI, OGQ and the MP and Indian government. I am grateful to Samaresh Jung sir. I feel great that I could bring the quota and medal to the country," Malviya told PTI.
The result marks another important step in Malviya's emergence on the national shooting circuit. He had earlier won the men's 10m air pistol gold at Trial 1 of the 2026 National Selection Trials at New Delhi's Dr Karni Singh Shooting Range.
Despite qualifying seventh for that final, he climbed to the top with a score of 245.6. He also came close to reaching the final at the 2026 ISSF World Cup in Hangzhou, finishing ninth after shooting 585 in the qualification round.
Manu Bhaker And Suruchi Inder Singh Finish Outside Podium
India's fortunes were less encouraging in the women's 10m air pistol final, where Manu Bhaker and Suruchi Inder Singh were unable to convert their qualification performances into individual medals.
Manu, a two-time Olympic bronze medallist from Paris 2024, finished fifth with 179.9 points. Suruchi, who has an Asian Games mixed team gold to her name, occupied sixth place after scoring 158.3.
China swept the top two positions through Jiang Ranxin and Yao Qianxun. Jiang won the gold medal with 242.4 points, narrowly ahead of Yao's 242.1. Hungary's Veronika Major completed the podium with 222.1, with all three shooters also securing Olympic quota places.
Manu's challenge ended after the 18th shot, with inconsistent scores, including an 8.8 and a high of 10.7, preventing her from mounting a sustained challenge. Suruchi was eliminated two shots earlier after struggling to maintain consistency during the final.
The Indian contingent did manage to add another medal to its tally through the women's team competition. Manu, Suruchi and Sainyam combined for 1,738 points to finish second behind China, which secured gold with 1,745.
The team competition's medals were awarded on the basis of the combined qualification scores of the three representatives from each nation. The event did not carry Olympic quota places.
Earlier in the day, both Manu and Suruchi had booked their places in the individual final through the qualification round. Manu recovered from two opening series of 95 each, producing scores of 98, 100, 96 and 99 in her remaining rounds. Her aggregate of 583 placed her third in the standings.
Suruchi secured the final qualifying spot in eighth place with 580 points. She recorded 97, 95, 96, 97, 97 and 98 across her six series.
Jiang led the qualification field with 585, while Sainyam narrowly missed out on the final, finishing 22nd with 575. Her contribution, however, proved valuable in India's team silver medal-winning campaign.
