Indian skeet shooters fail to reach medal round at Doha World Championship

India's experienced men's and women's skeet shooters faced disappointing results at the ISSF World Championship held in Doha. In the competitions held on Friday, 6 November 2026, Indian athletes failed to secure a place in the individual medal rounds and remained outside the medal positions in the team events. Consequently, their hopes of securing quota places for the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics have also ended.

These disappointing results come at a time when, just a day prior, Jaipal Malvia had secured an Olympic quota for India by winning a silver medal in the men's 10m air pistol event, which had brought some enthusiasm to the team. However, the Indian shooters could not make any significant impact in skeet shooting.

In the men's category, 51-year-old Olympian Meraaj Ahmed Khan was leading the Indian team. He hit 118 out of 125 shots across five rounds of 25 shots, placing him 46th among 113 shooters. On the other hand, Anantjeet Singh Naruka and Bhavtegh Singh Gill, who won medals at the Asian Games held in Japan this year, performed slightly better. Both athletes scored 119, ranking 25th and 24th respectively. The men's team's total combined score was 356, resulting in India finishing sixth.

In the women's category, Indian athletes also failed to reach the individual medal round. Ganemet Sekhon was the best-performing Indian, securing 13th place with a score of 118. Parinaz Dhaliwal finished 23rd with a score of 115, while Raiza Dhillon ranked 32nd with a score of 114. With a total combined score of 347 from these three athletes, the women's team finished fifth in the competition.

According to a report by The Hindu, the 10m air pistol mixed team event was scheduled to be held later that day. India fielded two pairs in this event: the first pair consisting of Suruchi Inder Singh and Jaipal Malvia, and the second pair comprising Sanyam and Ravinder Kumar. However, Olympic quota places are not awarded in the mixed team event, as they are granted only through individual competitions.