ISSF World Cup: Udhayveer Sidhu edges Christian Reitz by 0.5 points

India’s Udhayveer Sidhu won the men’s 10m air pistol gold at the ISSF World Cup in Cairo, beating Germany’s Christian Reitz by 0.5 points. Italy’s Paolo Monna took bronze, while Jonathan Gavin Antony topped qualification alongside Monna

Cairo: India’s Udhayveer Sidhu clinched the gold medal in the men’s 10m air pistol event at the International Shooting Sport Federation (ISSF) World Cup Rifle/Pistol on Sunday.

The 24-year-old produced a determined performance in the medal match, finishing with a score of 240.6. He edged past Germany’s multi-Olympic medallist Christian Reitz by 0.5 points in a dramatic finish. Reitz secured the silver medal with 240.1, while Italy’s Paolo Monna took bronze with 219.8.

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Udhayveer held his nerve during the closing elimination stages. Trailing Reitz by 0.3 points going into the final two shots, the Indian shooter fired 10.2 and 9.8. Reitz recorded two scores of 9.6, handing Udhayveer victory with the final shot.

Earlier in the day, Udhayveer qualified for the eight-man final in fourth place, scoring 585 across six series (99, 98, 98, 97, 97 and 96).

India’s Jonathan Gavin Antony, competing for ranking points only (RPO), shot 586 to tie with Monna for the highest qualification score. Among the other Indian participants, Ajendra Singh Chauhan finished 14th with 580 points. Olympic medallist Sarabjot Singh placed 31st with 574, while Kumar Yogesh scored 573 in the RPO section.

The final also featured Turkey’s Paris 2024 Olympic medallist Yusuf Dikec, who finished seventh with 138.0 points. Greece’s Georgios Gampierakis placed fourth with 198.7, followed by Latvia’s Emils Vasermanis in fifth place with 177.6.

The ISSF World Cup is being held in Cairo from October 8 to 16, 2026, with India fielding a 24-member team. The squad travelled to Cairo after completing an intensive national camp at Maharana Pratap Sports College in Dehradun from October 1 to 7.

During the camp, shooters worked on match simulations and fine-tuned their technical routines. India is competing in eight individual Olympic disciplines and two mixed-team events.