Niraj’s Bronze secures India’s first rifle quota

DOHA Indian shooter Niraj Kumar won bronze in the men’s 50m rifle three positions event at the ISSF World Championship in Doha on Wednesday, securing India’s first rifle quota place for the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics. Niraj scored 346.5 points in the final to finish third. Dmitrii Pimenov of the Individual Neutral Athletes team claimed gold with 362.8 points, setting a junior world record, while Slovakia’s Patrik Jany took silver with 357.2 points. The podium finish continued India’s strong run in the event at the World Championships. Akhil Sheoran won bronze in 2023, followed by Aishwary Pratap Singh Tomar’s silver medal in 2025. Tomar also reached Wednesday’s final but finished fifth with 323.7 points. Niraj’s achievement takes India’s Olympic quota tally to two. The country had earlier secured a place through Jaypal Malviya, who won silver in the men’s 10m air pistol event at the championships. Malviya scored 242.2 in the 24-shot final to finish behind China’s Hu Kai, who won gold with 243.9. Czech shooter Jindrich Dubovy claimed bronze with 220.9. Malviya remained in contention throughout the final, scoring 50.5 in the opening series and reaching 100.0 after the second. During the elimination rounds, he produced consistent high-10 shots, including scores of 10.8 and 10.7, to stay ahead of the chasing competitors. He held his nerve in the closing shots to secure silver. The two quota places strengthen India’s shooting representation prospects at Los Angeles 2028. Quota places are secured for the country and do not automatically guarantee participation by the athletes who won them. The results underline the depth of India’s rifle and pistol shooting programmes, with both athletes delivering medal-winning performances on the world championship stage in Doha.