ISSF World Cup 2023 Cairo Review: Medalists, top performers & more

World Champion Rudrankksh Patil continued his scintillating form in Egypt.

Team India concluded a successful outing at the ISSF World Cup 2023 in Cairo, Egypt, which kicked off on February 19 and continued until February 23, 2023. They topped the medal standings with seven medals, including four gold and three bronze. Hungary (3) emerged as the second best with two gold and one silver. While Italy and Switzerland were tied for the third spot. In Cairo, around 340 shooters from 42 countries competed for an overall 30 medals in individual and team events. We will now take a look at how the Indian shooters fared at the Cairo leg of the World Cup.

Indian medalists at ISSF World Cup 2023

1. Gold - Rudrankksh Balasaheb Patil/ Narmada Nithin Raju, Event - 10m air rifle mixed team
2. Gold - Varun Tomar/ Rhythm Sangwan, Event - 10m air pistol mixed team
3. Gold - Rudrankksh Balasaheb Patil, Event - Men’s 10m air rifle
4. Gold - Aishwary Pratap Singh Tomar, Event- Men’s 50m rifle three positions
5. Bronze - Varun Tomar, Event - Men’s 10m air pistol
6. Bronze - Tilottama Sen, Event - Women’s 10m air rifle
7. Bronze - Anish Bhanwala, Event - Men’s 25m rapid fire pistol

Top Performers from ISSF World Cup 2023 in Cairo

Rudrankksh Patil

After getting possession of the ISSF World Championships and President’s Cup 2022 titles, Rudrannksh Balasaheb Patil claimed the gold at the ISSF World Cup 2023 in Cairo. On his way to gold, he defeated Germany's Maximilian Ulbrich 16-8. The talented Indian shooter only had one score below 10 in the final. Rudrankksh dominated the ranking round with a score of 262.0 and quickly advanced to the gold medal match.

With a total of 629.3, he had earlier placed seventh in the qualifications. This was his second gold medal in the world cup as he also clinched gold in the 10m air rifle mixed team event. He paired alongside newcomer Narmada Raju to overcome the Serbian pair of Zorana Arunovic and Damir Mikec by a score of 16-6.

Aishwary Pratap Singh Tomar

Aishwary Pratap Singh Tomar of India returned to winning ways in ISSF tournaments by claiming the gold in the men’s 50m rifle three positions. At the ISSF World Cup 2023 in Cairo, he defeated Alexander Schmirl of Austria 16-6. Although it looked like Schmirl would give Aishwary tough competition in the final, Aishwary hit a string of 10.5s to eventually clinch the gold. The 20-year-old topped the qualifying round with a score of 588 and progressed to the ranking round. Aishwary came in second place behind Schmirl in the ranking round with a score of 406.4. 

Varun Tomar

It was Varun Tomar who opened India’s medal tally at the World Cup in Cairo by securing the bronze medal. Inspired by Saurabh Chaudhary, the Tokyo Olympian who finished seventh in the finals, Varun collected his first senior medal. He overcame his countryman Sarabjot Singh in a shoot-off after the two were matched for third place with 250.6 points in the ranking round.

However, this was not Varun's sole medal from the World Cup. He paired up with Rhythm Sangwan the very next day to earn the mixed team event's 10m air pistol gold medal. They defeated the Serbian duo of Damir Mikec and Zorana Arunovic by 16-10. The Indian pair had previously won the qualification round with a total of 583 to advance to the gold medal playoff.

Anish Bhanwala

After a phenomenal 2022 season that witnessed Anish grab the top position in almost every national competition, it was anticipated that Anish would do something great in the Cairo World Cup as well. He lived up to the expectations by capturing the bronze in the men’s 25m rapid-fire pistol. The victory was special as it was India’s first medal in this event after 12 years.

Before Anish, Vijay Kumar, who won the Olympic medal and the two prior world cup stage medals, was the sole winner in this event.  Anish edged out two-time Olympic medalist Christian Reitz to take third place in the competition with a score of 21 in the medal match.

Shooters who disappointed most at ISSF World Cup 2023

Manu Bhaker

Ace shooter Manu Bhaker has brought laurels to the country on multiple occasions. However, she couldn’t replicate her feat this time at the ISSF World Cup 2023 in the Cairo leg. Although she qualified for the ranking round in the 10m air pistol event, she couldn’t proceed further, finishing fifth. She placed 32nd in the women’s 25m pistol event to end her Cairo leg campaign.

Anjum Moudgil

Former number one and seasoned shooter Anjum Moudgil was another disappointment in the Cairo leg of the World Cup 2023. Before the start of the tournament, Anjum was considered one of the prime contenders in the women’s 50m rifle 3 positions event. However, she couldn’t live up to the hype as she finished 27th in the qualifications.