Jaypal Malviya wins silver medal at ISSF World Championship, secures Olympic quota

Jaypal Malviya of India has won the silver medal in the Men's 10m Air Pistol event at the ongoing ISSF World Championship in Doha. With this victory, he has secured the first shooting quota for India for the LA 2028 Olympics.

In the final round of the competition, the 31-year-old Malviya secured second place with 242.2 points. China's Hu Kai won the gold medal with 243.9 points, while Jindrich Dubovy of the Czech Republic won the bronze medal. Malviya had qualified for the final in third place by scoring 585 points in six series during the qualification round. According to a report by The Times of India, he showed great resilience during the tense moments of the final.

Malviya had earned his place in the Indian team by winning the gold medal in the domestic selection trials. This was only his second international competition after the Hangzhou World Cup, where he achieved this significant success.

According to a report by Sportstar, a total of 36 Olympic quotas are available across 12 individual shooting events in this championship, with three berths being awarded in each discipline. These quotas are allocated to National Olympic Committees rather than individual athletes. Consequently, Malviya's performance has secured one spot for India in the Men's 10m Air Pistol event, though the final shooter for LA 2028 will be selected at a later stage.

India has sent a 54-member delegation to Doha, comprising shooters from rifle, pistol, and shotgun disciplines. The team will now attempt to build on Malviya's performance to secure more quotas. The Los Angeles Olympics will be held from 14 to 30 July, 2028. India, which secured 22 shooting quotas for the Paris 2024 Olympics, will now undertake a strong qualification campaign for the upcoming edition.