SportsShooting
Jaypal Malviya wins air pistol silver in Doha, India's first shooting quota for LA 2028
The Indian finished behind China's Kai Hu in the men's 10m air pistol final at the ISSF World Championships, earning the country its first Olympic shooting place for Los Angeles.
Key points
- Jaypal Malviya won silver in the men's 10m air pistol at the World Championships in Doha.
- The medal brings India its first shooting quota for LA 2028.
- Manu Bhaker and Suruchi Inder Singh missed out on quotas in the women's final.
Jaypal Malviya won silver in the men’s 10m air pistol at the ISSF World Championships in Doha, and with it India’s first shooting quota place for the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics.
Malviya scored 242.2 in the eight-man final, finishing 1.7 points behind China’s Kai Hu, who took gold with 243.9. Jindrich Dubovy of Czechia won bronze.
How the final went
The Indian had qualified third with 585 over six series, but his final did not start smoothly. A 9.2 on his second shot of the opening five-shot series left him chasing, and it took a 10.6 with his last shot of that series to lift him to third. He slipped to fourth after the next series before working his way up to second, at one stage closing to within 0.5 of Hu. He could not make up the final gap.
The quota is the first India has won in shooting for the next Games. Malviya had already shown form this season, winning gold in Trial 1 of the National Selection Trials in New Delhi with a final score of 245.6.
Mixed day for the women
The women’s 10m air pistol brought less cheer. Manu Bhaker, a double medallist in Paris, finished fifth with 179.9, and Suruchi Inder Singh was sixth with 158.3, so neither earned a place for Los Angeles. The pair, with Sainyam, had earlier taken team silver with 1,738 points, seven behind China. Team medals carry no Olympic quota.
For now, Malviya’s silver means India already has a place in the men’s 10m air pistol in Los Angeles.