Niraj Kumar has won bronze in the men’s 50m rifle three-positions event at the ISSF World Championships in Doha, securing India’s second shooting quota place for the Los Angeles 2028 Olympics.
The 26-year-old finished with a final score of 346.5 on Wednesday, 11 November, in a final won by Dmitrii Pimenov, competing as an Individual Neutral Athlete, with 362.8, a junior world record. The silver went to Slovakia’s Patrik Jany, with 357.2.
Niraj was in contention for the silver until a costly 9.4 on his 34th shot dropped him to third, but the bronze was enough to secure the Olympic quota place for India. The quota goes to the country, through the National Rifle Association of India, rather than to the individual shooter.
India also won the team bronze in the event, with Niraj, Aishwary Pratap Singh Tomar and Akhil Sheoran combining for 1,751 points, adding to a strong day for Indian shooting in Doha.
It is India’s second shooting quota for Los Angeles 2028. The first was won by Jaypal Malviya, who took silver in the men’s 10m air pistol earlier in the championships.
Niraj, who comes from a village in Punjab, has risen steadily through the Indian shooting ranks, and the bronze in Doha is the biggest result of his career so far. The 50m rifle three-positions, which tests shooters in kneeling, prone and standing positions, is one of the most demanding events in the sport.
The ISSF World Championships are the first major qualifying event for the Los Angeles Games, and the quota places won in Doha will shape the Indian shooting team for the next two years. India has become one of the strongest shooting nations in the world, and its shooters are expected to be among the favourites in Los Angeles.
For Niraj, the medal is a reward for years of work in a sport that demands extraordinary patience and precision, and it puts him in contention for a place on the Olympic team, although the final selection will be made closer to the Games.
The Indian team’s performance in Doha has been one of the stories of the championships, with medals across the rifle and pistol events, and the two quota places already secured with days of competition still to run.
The championships continue in Doha, with more Indian shooters in action in the coming days, and the team will be looking to add to its medal tally and its quota count before the event ends.
