New Delhi: Indian shooters will have the advantage of shooting at least one Los Angeles 2028 Olympics quota event at home. The 2027 ISSF World Cup (rifle/pistol/shotgun) in New Delhi has been allocated an Olympic qualifier by the ISSF, as per the 2028 Olympic qualification pathway announced on Thursday.
The competition will offer 12 quota places, one each in 12 Olympic disciplines. “It will be a good opportunity for our shooters to win Olympic quotas at home range. NRAI had requested ISSF to give us one Olympic quota event and we are excited to host it,” said NRAI’s newly-elected secretary general Pawan Kumar Singh.
The Olympic qualification will begin with the ISSF World Championships next year in Doha. It will offer 36 quota places. The 2027 World Championships (rifle/pistol) will have 24 quotas on offer. The seven World Cups will also be an opportunity to bag rifle, pistol and shotgun Olympic berths. The Asian Championships (54 quota places) will be a final tournament for Indian shooters to bag 2028 Olympic quotas. There will be 12 berths from world rankings as well, with the qualification window running from July 31, 2026 to May 1, 2028.
India had a strong 21-member shooting contingent at the Paris Olympics, competing across 15 shooting events. It had a very successful outing with Manu Bhaker winning two bronze medals in individual 10m air pistol and mixed team event (with Sarabjot Sngh), while Swapnil Kusale also winning 50m rifle 3P bronze.
Hockey
The Olympic qualification for hockey was also announced. As seen in every edition since the Beijing Olympics in 2008, 12 teams per gender will participate in the quadrennial mega-event, including the host nation, the USA.
The highest placed nation in the FIH Hockey Pro League Seasons 2025-26 and 2026-27 will qualify. The highest placed team in each of the five continental championships that is not already qualified as host or through the FIH Hockey Pro League will also qualify.
Besides, there will be four FIH Olympic qualifying tournaments (two per gender) consisting of eight teams each, held in early 2028. The top two teams in each tournament will qualify and therefore complete the line-up of participating teams.