Manu Bhaker leads India’s 54-member squad at ISSF World Championship in Doha from Nov 3-13

Two-time Olympic medallist Manu Bhaker will lead India’s 54-member delegation at the ISSF World Championship 2026 in Doha, Qatar, which runs from November 3 to November 13, organisers said. The championship doubles as a qualification event for the LA 2028 Olympics and will be streamed live on the ISSF’s official YouTube channel, with no confirmed television broadcaster in India.

The tournament will include rifle, pistol and shotgun disciplines and offers Olympic qualification: three quota places are available in each of the 12 individual shooting events, totaling 36 LA 2028 quota slots. National Olympic Committees retain exclusive authority over Olympic representation, meaning shooters’ participation at LA 2028 will depend on their NOCs. More than 1,000 shooters from 90 National Olympic Committees, together with neutral athletes, are expected to compete in Doha.

India’s 54-member contingent comprises 35 shooters entered across all 12 individual Olympic events and 19 competitors in non-Olympic events. The squad includes double Olympic medallist Manu Bhaker and recent Asian Games champion Neeru Dhanda.

Manu Bhaker arrives in Doha after a disappointing Asian Games 2026, where she missed four medal opportunities across individual and team events. Neeru Dhanda comes into the world championships in strong form after winning two gold medals and a silver in trap at Aichi-Nagoya. Mixed 10m air pistol gold medallists at the 2026 Asian Games Suruchi Singh and Kamaljeet Sohlot are also part of the Indian delegation.

Rifle entries for India feature Asian Games silver medallists Elavenil Valarivan and Himanshu Dhillon; Aishwary Pratap Singh Tomar will contest the men’s 50m rifle three positions and Anjum Moudgil the women’s equivalent. Olympian Anant Jeet Singh Naruka is entered in men’s skeet, while Paris 2024 bronze medallist Swapnil Kusale will compete only in the non-Olympic men’s 50m rifle prone event. Sarabjot Singh, who partnered Bhaker to a 10m air pistol mixed team bronze in Paris, was not selected for the Doha squad.

Competition will take place at the Lusail Sports Complex in Doha from November 3 to 13. Organisers confirm that all finals will be streamed live and free worldwide on the ISSF YouTube channel, without a paid subscription requirement, and that only finals of each event will be shown live.

Athletes at the Lusail Sports Complex will be competing for the 36 Olympic quota places on offer across the 12 individual events, with national Olympic committees determining which shooters ultimately represent their countries at LA 2028.