Anish Bhanwala becomes India's first medallist at ISSF World Cup Finals 2023

Published at :November 24, 2023 at 11:21 PM

Modified at :January 14, 2024 at 1:15 AM

(Courtesy : ISSF Youtube)

Karnal-born shooter secured bronze medal.

Anish Bhanwala, the 21-year-old Indian shooter, bagged bronze medal in the 25m rapid fire pistol event at the ISSF World Cup Finals in Doha on Friday (November 24th). In the six-man final, Anish secured the third spot, hitting 27 out of 40 targets, trailing Florian Peter of Germany with 35 hits and Li Yuehong of China with 33 hits.

Initially, fourth after the first series of five shots, Anish held onto the position when Clement Bessaguet’s performance dipped drastically, managing only two shots in the second series before being eliminated along with Zhang Jueming of China in subsequent rounds.

Anish Bhanwala commenced the final strongly, bagging four hits out of five in the first series. However, a slip in the following series saw him drop 2 shots. Despite improving to five hits in the third and fourth series, Anish couldn’t bridge the gap with the leaders. In the critical sixth series, although Anish managed only 2 shots, Rampula’s failure to hit any target allowed Anish to move ahead, leading 23-22 after the round.

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Continuing to push forward, Anish landed 4 shots in the seventh round. However, his efforts fell short against Li Yuehong, who despite a subpar performance in the round, edged out Bhanwala 29-27, ultimately sealing Anish’s third-place finish.

Anish Bhanwala, who hails from Karnal, Haryana, is the youngest Indian gold medallist at the Commonwealth Games, having won the title in 2018. He also holds the junior world record in the 25m rapid-fire pistol event with a score of 579. He has won multiple medals at the ISSF Junior World Championships, ISSF Junior World Cups, and Asian Games. He is currently ranked eighth in the world in the 25m rapid-fire pistol event.

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