New Delhi: Indian shooter Anish Bhanwala produced one of the finest performances of his young career, securing the silver medal in the 25m rapid-fire pistol event at the ISSF World Championships in Cairo. The 23-year-old from Haryana delivered composure, precision, and grit during a tense final that featured two dramatic shoot-offs.
Anish entered the finals after an impressive qualification run. He posted a total of 585, scoring 291 on the opening day and returning with a stronger 294 in Stage 2, which sealed his place in the medal round as the second-best qualifier. France’s Clement Bessaguet topped the field with 589 before going on to claim the gold medal with a total of 31 points in the final.
Cairo has been a favourable venue for Anish, who earlier won a mixed team silver here in 2022, and he seemed to reconnect with that confidence from the very first shot. He began the final with a flawless five-hit series and stayed in the top two positions through the early stages. After three series, Anish had accumulated 16 points, only one behind China’s Ni Zhixin.
He remained steady during the elimination phase, adding two more sets of four hits that kept him in the mix with 20 points. However, the third elimination round saw him drop three shots, slipping to 22 points while Bessaguet moved ahead with a strong lead.
The pressure then escalated as Anish faced Germany’s Emanuel Mueller in a shoot-off for third place. He held firm to stay alive, then repeated the feat in another shoot-off against Ukraine’s Maksym Horodynets to secure the silver medal with a final tally of 28. His performance marks India’s second-best achievement in this event at a global stage, next only to Vijay Kumar’s silver at the London Olympics.
Among other Indian competitors, Adarsh Singh finished 22nd with 575 and Sameer placed 35th with 571. The Indian team of Anish, Adarsh, and Sameer secured fifth position overall with a combined score of 1731.
The result serves as a strong comeback for Anish after a disappointing Paris Olympics and underlines his rise as one of India’s most promising pistol shooters.
