ISSF World Cup 2023: India finish on top with 7 medals; Know Indian medal winners

Commonwealth Games 2018 champion Anish Bhanwala won a bronze medal in men’s 25m rapid fire pistol on the final day of the ISSF World Cup 2023 in Cairo on Thursday.

Anish Bhanwala had a total of 21 points at the end of six series and claimed the third position in the four-man medal match. Christian Reitz of Germany also made it to the medal match but was eliminated at the end of the fourth series with the lowest score of 13 points.

Massimo Spinella of Italy beat Clement Bessaguet of France 32-30 after continuing till the eighth series to claim the gold medal while Bessaguet settled for silver.

The Indian shooting team thus ended the Cairo meet with a rich haul of four gold and three bronze medals across rifle and pistol shooting events.

The seven medals helped India top the medals tally at the shooting World Cup ahead of Hungary, who won two gold medals and one silver. Italy with one gold and one silver finished third on the table.

In the qualification round, Anish Bhanwala came seventh with 581 points and was also the only Indian to make it to the eight-man ranking round on the day. Shooters Arpit Goel (572 points) and Adarsh Singh (570 points) were competing for ranking points only (RPO) and finished 22nd and 26th, respectively.

Bhavesh Shekhawat (569 points) and Ankur Goel (569 points) came 27th and 28th, respectively, in the field of 41 competitors.

In the women’s 50m rifle 3 positions, none of India’s five shooters made it to the top eight from the 69-woman qualification round.

Sift Kaur Samra (585 points) came 16th followed by Manini Kaushik (584 points), who finished 22nd. Olympian Anjum Moudgil, with 583 points, came 27th. Ashi Chouksey (579 points) and Shriyanka Sadangi (579 points) were competing under RPO and came 45th and 46th, respectively.

Earlier at the ISSF World Cup, gold medals by Rudrankksh Balasaheb Patil and Narmada Raju (India’s 10m air rifle mixed team) and Varun Tomar and Rhythm Sangwan (10m air pistol mixed team) on the second day of the competition put India on top of the medals table.

Rudrankksh Balasaheb, who became world champion in the men’s 10m air rifle individual event at the same venue last year, also won the individual gold medal in men’s 10m air rifle. Olympian Aishwary Pratap Singh Tomar won the gold medal in the men’s 50m rifle 3 positions.

The ISSF World Cup 2023 in Cairo was the second World Cup of the year for pistol and rifle shooters. The third stage will be held in Bhopal, India from March 20 to March 31.

ISSF World Cup 2023 Cairo: India’s medal winners

1. Aishwary Pratap Singh Tomar (men’s 50m rifle 3 positions) – Gold medal
2. Rudrankksh Balasaheb Patil (men’s 10m air rifle) – Gold medal
3. Rudrankksh Balasaheb Patil/Narmada Raju (10m air rifle mixed team) – Gold medal
4. Varun Tomar/Rhythm Sangwan (10m air pistol mixed team) – Gold medal
5. Varun Tomar (men’s 10m air pistol) – Bronze medal
6. Tilottama Sen (women’s 10m air rifle) – Bronze medal
7. Anish Bhanwala (men’s 25m rapid fire pistol) – Bronze medal