Niraj Kumar sealed a quota place for the Los Angeles 2028 Olympics for India in the men’s 50m rifle 3-position after winning the bronze at the ISSF World Championship Rifle/Pistol/Shotgun here on Wednesday.
This is India’s second Olympic quota in shooting, as Jaypal Malviya secured the country’s first quota for the Los Angeles Olympics in 2028 after winning the silver medal in the men’s 10m air pistol last week.
Niraj recorded a total score of 346.5, finishing behind Slovakia’s Patrik Jany, who took silver with 357.2, and gold-medal winner Dmitrii Pimenov, who broke the Junior World Record with 362.8.
India’s Aishwary Pratap Singh Tomar finished fifth with 323.7 points, followed by Croatia’s Petar Gorsa (313.0), France’s Romain Aufrere (302.1) and Switzerland’s Jan Lochbihler (300.8).
Niraj’s quota comes in the same event in which Swapnil Kusale won a historic bronze medal at the Paris 2024, becoming the first Indian shooter to win an Olympic medal in the men’s 50m rifle 3 positions.
Pimenov led the final with an impressive performance across all three positions. After building his score through kneeling and prone, the AIN athlete maintained his advantage in the standing series, finishing on 362.8 points to secure the gold medal and a junior world record.
As Jany had already earned a quota place in Men’s 10m Air Rifle, he could not obtain a second one. Consequently, the quota place went to the next eligible athlete, Norway’s Jon-Hermann Hegg, who finished fourth with 335.9 points.
Pimenov also secured a quota place through his victory, while Hegg’s fourth-place finish proved decisive in earning Norway the third quota place available from the final.
As per the rule, an athlete can obtain only one quota place for their NOC. If an athlete who has already secured a quota place finishes in a qualifying position in another event, the place is awarded to the next eligible athlete.
The ISSF World Championship Doha 2026 is offering three Olympic quota places in each of the 12 individual events: six men and six women across the rifle, pistol and shotgun disciplines.
