Anish Bhanwala wins silver in rapid-fire pistol at ISSF World Cup Final

Anish Bhanwala won silver in the men’s 25m rapid-fire pistol at the ISSF World Cup Final in Doha, finishing behind China’s Li Yuehong. It was his second medal at the event, improving on the bronze he won two years ago

Doha: Rapid Fire Pistol (RFP) shooter Anish Bhanwala rounded off a successful day two for India at the International Shooting Sport Federation (ISSF) World Cup Final (WCF) Rifle/Pistol/Shotgun in Doha, winning silver in the men’s 25m RFP.

The Indian finished with 31 hits, two behind Chinese Olympic champion Li Yuehong in the fourth final of Sunday at the Lusail Shooting Complex. This was Anish’s second WCF medal, bettering the bronze he won at the same venue two years ago. Reigning world champion Clement Bessaguet of France took bronze. It was Li’s second WCF gold and fifth medal overall.

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Anish’s medal was India’s second silver of the day after Aishwary Pratap Singh Tomar had won silver in the men’s 50m rifle 3 positions. Simranpreet Kaur Brar’s gold in the women’s 25m pistol took India’s tally to two gold, three silver and one bronze, behind leaders China with three gold, two silver and three bronze.

India will have one more chance at a medal on Monday, the final day of competitions, when Zorawar Sandhu competes in the men’s Trap final.

With new ISSF formats in Doha, eight instead of six shooters made the men’s RFP final. Anish shot 583 in qualifying to take fifth spot, while Vijayveer shot 579 to qualify eighth. Bessaguet topped with 590, while Yuehong shot 587 for second.

After missing one shot each in his first two series, Sidhu shot a clean five in the third to avoid a shoot-off for seventh place, as Czechia’s Matej Rampula was eliminated in eighth.

German Emanuel Mueller bowed out after shoot-offs with teammate Peter Florian. Anish, who had survived his first shoot-off with three hits, shot a clean five in the fourth series to rise to joint second.

Yuehong stayed composed, while Vijayveer struggled. Another solid four from Anish took him to sole second, pushing Chinese shooter Su to fifth as Vijayveer and Bessaguet tied for third.

Vijayveer managed two hits in his sixth series, while Bessaguet responded with a clean five to confirm a third WCF medal.

All three medalists then shot four hits each, sending Anish into a shoot-off with Bessaguet for bronze. Anish shot a perfect five to advance to the final duel with Li, two hits behind.

But a three was not enough, and Li won his second WCF gold and fifth medal overall. It was Anish’s third international silver of the year.

Speaking after the match, Anish said, “It has turned out to be a great competition for me. I was vacationing after the world championships and trained just enough for this match. I enjoyed the new format. It’s good because more finalists mean more nations can cheer their athletes, and earlier half of the finalists used to win medals. This is more competitive and good for RFP overall.”