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Shooting: news, facts and key points

News, tournaments, teams and athletes for Shooting on SportsLine.

4 stories · latest 12 Nov 2026 · View the sport page

Key points from the latest coverage

Niraj Kumar's Journey from Borrowed Shooting Kit to World Championship Bronze and LA 2028 Quota

Niraj Kumar won bronze in the men's 50m rifle 3 positions event at the ISSF World Championships in Doha and secured an Olympic quota place for India at Los Angeles 2028.
His father, Captain Ravinder Kumar, bought him a rifle worth ₹3 lakh after Niraj chose shooting over pursuing graduation.
As a young shooter, Niraj trained with basic rifles at a makeshift NCC tent range in Talwara and borrowed competition kit from the son of Lt Col TS Dalal.
Niraj won silver at the 2016 nationals using the borrowed kit and gold the following year, helping him earn recruitment into the Indian Navy.
He topped the Doha qualification with 591 points: 196 in kneeling, 198 in prone and 197 in standing.

India Win Women’s 10m Air Rifle Team Silver as Elavenil Valarivan Reaches World Championship Final

India's women's 10m air rifle team won silver at the ISSF World Championship in Doha on November 3, 2026.
The Indian team comprised Elavenil Valarivan, Sonam Uttam Maskar and Shambhavi Kshirsagar, according to the championship team listing.
Elavenil Valarivan qualified for the women's 10m air rifle individual final at the Doha championship.
The women's 10m air rifle qualification was scheduled for November 3 at 13:15 local time, according to the ISSF schedule.
The ISSF World Championship Rifle/Pistol/Shotgun is being held in Doha from November 1 to 14, 2026.

Did you know? Facts about Shooting

Niraj studied videos of American shooter Matthew Emmons and Indian Olympian Sanjiv Rajput to learn technical details across the three positions. Read the story →
Niraj won silver at the Asian Junior Championships in Doha before breaking into India's senior team in 2021. Read the story →
He qualified for his first senior World Cup final at the 2021 Delhi World Cup and finished eighth. Read the story →
His father recalled making him dry-fire with a stick and aim at a cardboard box when he was young. Read the story →
Elavenil Valarivan was born in Tamil Nadu and began practising shooting in 2014, according to her ISSF athlete profile. Read the story →
Elavenil's ISSF profile lists her as a former world championship medallist and a six-time world-ranked top competitor in women's 10m air rifle. Read the story →
India's women's team at Doha featured Elavenil Valarivan, Sonam Maskar and Shambhavi Kshirsagar. Read the story →
The championship's men's 10m air rifle final on November 3 was won by China's Sheng Lihao with 254.1 points. Read the story →

All stories on Shooting

Niraj Kumar's Journey from Borrowed Shooting Kit to World Championship Bronze and LA 2028 Quota

From training with basic rifles in an NCC tent range to winning men's 50m rifle 3 positions bronze at the ISSF World Championships in Doha, Niraj Kumar's rise has been built on family sacrifice, borrowed equipment and years of technical work. The Indian also secured a quota place for the Los Angeles

India Win Women’s 10m Air Rifle Team Silver as Elavenil Valarivan Reaches World Championship Final

India's women's 10m air rifle team won silver at the ISSF World Championships in Doha, while Elavenil Valarivan qualified for the individual final. The individual final was scheduled on November 3, with the result not confirmed in the accessible official records at the time of writing.

Manu Bhaker and Neeru Dhanda Lead India’s 54-Member Squad for ISSF Worlds in Doha

India will send 54 shooters to the ISSF World Championship in Doha from November 1-14, with Manu Bhaker and Neeru Dhanda leading the challenge as 36 LA 2028 Olympic quota places are available.

Suma Shirur’s Lakshya Shooting Club Builds Seven-Storey High-Performance Centre in Belapur

Suma Shirur’s Lakshya Shooting Club is developing a high-performance shooting centre in CBD Belapur, Navi Mumbai, with Axis Bank support and facilities designed for elite, emerging and para shooters.