India ends ISSF Rifle/Pistol World Championships 2022 campaign with 34 medals
(Twitter)
Indian shooters performed well at the ISSF Rifle/Pistol World Championship 2022 in Cairo, Egypt, winning 34 medals (12 gold, 9 silver, and 13 bronze) to come in second place behind China. The medal total was consolidated because the senior and junior world championships were conducted concurrently.
The young shooters from India notably stood out, winning 25 of the total 34 medals. Udhayveer Sidhu, a junior pistol shooter, stood out with two gold medals for himself and one for the team. The two Olympic quota spots that India was able to earn thanks to its senior shooters were the meeting's main attraction, though.
Shooters had the chance to compete for 32 direct Olympic quota slots, which were given to the top four finishers in each of the eight Olympic shooting events in Cairo. The senior leg of the ISSF Rifle/Pistol World Championship 2022 served as a qualifying event for the Paris 2024 Games.
Rudrankksh Patil, 18, who won gold in the men's 10m air rifle, earned the first quota spot from the competition. The Olympic gold medalist Abhinav Bindra, Tejaswini Sawant, Manavjit Singh Sandhu, Om Prakash Mitherval, and Ankur Mittal were the previous five Indians to win the shooting world championship.
Swapnil Kusale placed fourth in the men's 50m rifle 3 positions event but was unable to win a medal. He nonetheless managed to obtain India's second quota from the Cairo event. India has now secured three quota berths, all in shooting, for the Paris 2024 Olympics, in addition to Bhowneesh Mendiratta's victory in the men's trap event at the Shotgun World Championship 2022 in Osijek last month.
However, quota positions are acquired on behalf of national teams and do not belong to specific shooters. Federations hold trials to determine which shooters advance to the main event. With 58 medals, 27 holds, 16 silver medals, and 15 bronze medals, China won the most medals at the ISSF Rifle/Pistol World Championships in 2022.
