The ISSF World Championships returned to Cairo on Saturday, offering India an encouraging start to the 2025 season with two medals on the opening day. Ravinder Singh produced a commanding performance to win gold in the men’s 50m pistol, while Elavenil Valarivan claimed bronze in the women’s 10m air rifle, underscoring the depth and discipline of India’s shooting contingent.
Ravinder delivered one of the standout performances of the day, topping the men’s 50m pistol final with calm precision. His qualification score of 569-12x had already set him apart from the field, but it was his composure in the medal round that confirmed his supremacy. In an event known for technical unforgivability, Ravinder’s controlled series, 93, 98, 94, 95, 93, 96, placed him comfortably ahead of Korea’s Cheongyong Kim and AIN’s Anton Aristarkhov. His gold marked India’s strongest opening in the discipline in recent years and placed him firmly among the championship’s early headliners.
India’s second medal came through Elavenil Valarivan, who finished third in a competitive women’s 10m air rifle final dominated by Korea’s Ban Hyojin and China’s Wang Zifei. Elavenil entered the final with a qualification score of 634.3, placing her fifth. She maintained steady rhythm in the final before closing at 232.0, reinforcing her position as one of India’s most consistent rifle specialists.
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India also finished third in the women’s 10m air rifle team event, where Elavenil combined with Meghana Sajjanar and Shreya Agrawal to deliver a reliable collective performance. Sajjanar narrowly missed the individual final after scoring 631.2, while Agrawal added important mid-range stability.
In the men’s 10m air rifle, Arjun Babuta reached the final after scoring 632.5 in qualification. He finished seventh in a field led by Germany’s Maximilian Dallinger, Sweden’s Victor Lindgren, and China’s Sheng Lihao. India placed fourth in the men’s team event, with Babuta, Rudrankksh Patil and Vishal Singh accumulating 944.5.
India’s depth was further reflected in the women’s 50m pistol, where Priyanka Patel (533-8x), Sakshi Suryavanshi (532-4x) and Parisha Gupta (531-4x) delivered steady mid-table scores, though unable to break into the top bracket dominated by new world-record performances from China and Azerbaijan.
In the 25m rapid fire pistol, Anish remained within striking distance after scoring 291 in Stage 1. His progress into Stage 2 will determine India’s prospects for a final berth.
With two medals already secured and multiple finalists in contention, India’s shooters step into Day 2 with confidence and clear upward momentum.
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