Niraj Kumar earns Los Angeles quota with bronze in men's 50m 3-position in Doha

India's Niraj Kumar secured a quota place for the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics by winning bronze in the men's 50m rifle 3-positions at the ISSF World Championships in Doha on Wednesday, November 11, 2026.

The quota is India's second at the championships, coming after Jaypal Malviya's silver in the men's 10m air pistol earlier in the week. The event was won by Individual Neutral Athlete (AIN) Dmitrii Pimenov, with Slovakia's Patrik Jany taking silver; both medalists also secured Olympic quota places.

In the final, Kumar posted a score of 346.5 and remained in contention for silver until a 9.4 on his 34th shot dropped him to third. Jany produced a 10.4 late in the contest to move into second, while Pimenov finished clear of the field to claim gold with a world junior record of 362.8.

India took bronze in the team event, with Niraj Kumar, Aishwary Pratap Singh Tomar and Akhil Sheoran combining for 1,751 in the elimination round. They missed the silver medal by a single point, Norway finishing second with 1,752 and the Czech Republic taking gold with 1,754. In the elimination totals, Kumar and Sheoran each shot 582 while Aishwary contributed 587.

In individual qualification, Kumar led the standings with 591 to top the field, while Aishwary shot 586 to finish fourth and secure the other Indian place in the final. Aishwary entered the competition as a two-time Olympian and a former World Championships silver medallist, making his progression to the final notable among India's entries.

Aishwary began the final strongly in the kneeling position, scoring 102.9 over his 10 shots to be tied for the lead, but a sequence of 9s in the prone series saw him lose ground. His difficulties continued in the standing stage and he was eliminated in fifth place with a final score of 323.7.

Kumar, a 26-year-old Navy shooter who was part of India's silver-winning team at the recent Asian Games in Aichi–Nagoya, maintained composure through the final and stayed in medal contention until the closing stages.

India's men's trap competitors also remain in contention: Udaivir Singh and Vivaan Kapoor posted scores of 97 after four rounds of 25 shots to sit seventh and eighth respectively, with the top eight after the final qualification round on Thursday (November 12) set to advance to the medal round. India lead the trap team standings on 285, with Udaivir 97, Vivaan 97 and Zorawar Sandhu 91, and one more round of 25 shots remains before those team medals are decided on Thursday, when they will also have a chance to add to the country's medal tally and secure another Olympic quota.