Sports/Alive News: India’s Niraj Kumar won a bronze medal in the men’s 50m rifle 3-positions event at the ISSF World Championships on Wednesday, securing the country’s second quota place for the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics. The 26-year-old shooter scored 346.5 points to finish third in the individual final.
Individual Neutral Athlete (AIN) shooter Dmitrii Pimenov won gold with a world junior record score of 362.8, while Slovakia’s Patrik Jany claimed silver. Niraj remained in contention for silver until his 34th shot, when he scored 9.4.
Earlier, Niraj topped the qualification round with 591 points to enter the final. India’s Aishwary Pratap Singh Tomar also qualified after scoring 586 points but finished fifth in the final with 323.7 points.
India Wins Bronze in Team Event
India also secured bronze in the men’s 50m rifle 3-positions team event. Niraj Kumar, Aishwary Pratap Singh Tomar and Akhil Sheoran combined for 1,751 points to finish third.
The Czech Republic won gold with 1,754 points, while Norway secured silver with 1,752 points. India missed the silver medal by just one point.
India’s Second Olympic Quota
Niraj’s achievement secured India’s second quota place for the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics in shooting at the championships. Earlier, Jaypal Malviya had earned the country’s first quota place in the men’s 10m air pistol event.
An Olympic quota secures a country’s participation slot in a particular event. However, winning the quota does not guarantee that the same athlete will compete at the Olympics. The final selection is decided by the country’s selection process.
