India’s experienced men’s and women’s skeet shooters endured a disappointing day at the ISSF World Championships on Friday, failing to qualify for the individual medal rounds and finishing outside the podium places in the team events.
The shooters also missed their opportunity to secure a quota place for the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics.
The setback came a day after Jaypal Malviya won silver in the men’s 10m air pistol event to secure an Olympic quota for India, offering a rare bright moment following a difficult campaign.
In the men’s skeet competition, 51-year-old Olympian Mairaj Ahmad Khan led the Indian challenge but could manage only 118 out of a possible 125 across five rounds. He finished 46th among 113 competitors.
Anantjeet Singh Naruka and Bhavtegh Singh Gill put up slightly better performances, both registering scores of 119. Naruka finished 25th, while Gill secured 24th place.
India’s combined score of 356 placed the men’s team sixth in the team standings.
The Indian women also failed to make the individual medal round. Ganemat Sekhon was the highest-placed Indian, finishing 13th with a score of 118. Parinaaz Dhaliwal recorded 115 to finish 23rd, while Raiza Dhillon scored 114 and ended 32nd.
The trio combined for 347 points to secure fifth place in the women’s team event.
Indian Air Pistol Mixed Teams Also Miss Final
India’s air pistol mixed teams also failed to qualify for the medal round, with both combinations finishing outside the top four required to advance to the final.
Suruchi Inder Singh, who had won Asian Games gold in the event with a different partner last month, could not reproduce that performance alongside Malviya. The pair finished 21st with a combined score of 574, as both shooters registered 287 points.
The other Indian combination of Sainyam and Ravin Kumar also missed the cut. Sainyam shot 287, while Ravin scored 285, taking their combined tally to 572 and a 27th-place finish.
Only the top four teams in the qualification round advanced to the final and remained in contention for medals.