ISSF World Championships 2023: Indian shooters end their campaign with 14 medals, four Olympic quotas

India's campaign at the ISSF World Championships in Baku, Azerbaijan ended on a good note with a gold medal in the women's 50m pistol team event on Friday, August 25.

India's overall medal count increased to 14, with six gold and eight bronze medals. The team finished in second position on the medal table behind China.

The Indian squad put up a stupendous show at the ISSF World Championships this year. The gold medal winners include the women's 10m air rifle team, the 10m air pistol mixed team, the women's 25m pistol team, the men's 50m rifle 3-positions team, Amanpreet Singh (in the men's 25m standard pistol) and the women's 50m pistol team.

Meanwhile, the bronze medalist at the ISSF World Championships were the men's 10m air pistol team, the women's 25m standard pistol team, Mehuli Ghosh (in the women's 10m air rifle), Akhil Sheoran (in the men's 50m rifle 3-positions), Tiyana (in the individual women's 50m pistol), Ravinder Singh (in the individual men's 50m pistol), the men's 50m pistol team and the men's 25m center fire pistol team.

Four Olympic quotas for India at the 2023 ISSF World Championships

The ISSF World Championships this year had 48 Paris Olympic spots at stake across different individual events (for both men and women). Hence, this event was extremely crucial from the upcoming Olympics point of view as well.

The Indian shooters grabbed the golden opportunity in Baku and sealed four quotas for India. Mehuli Ghosh in the women's 10m air rifle, Akhil Sheoran in the men's 50m rifle 3-positions, Rajeshwari Kumari in the women's trap, and Sift Kaur Samra in the women's 50m rifle 3-positions earned the Olympic spots.

It is worth mentioning that last year, Bhowneesh Mendiratta (in the men's trap), Rudrankksh Patil (in the men's 10m air rifle), and Swapnil Kusale (in the men's 50m rifle 3-positions) had also secured spots at the Paris Olympics 2024. Therefore, India now has seven quotas in shooting.

However, certain opportunities were missed as well in events like the men's 10m air pistol, the women's 10m air pistol and the men's 10m air rifle, among others. The Indian shooters will now look to excel at the Hangzhou Asian Games 2023.