Vivaan Kapoor clinched the men's trap silver medal at the ISSF World Championship in Doha on Thursday, securing India's third overall quota place for the Los Angeles 2028 Olympic Games. The Jaipur-based shooter finished level with Kuwait's Abdulrahman Alfaihan on 29 hits out of 30 at the top of the leaderboard, but lost the sudden-death shoot-off 3-2, with Alfaihan taking gold. China's Qi Ying won bronze with 22 hits. The three medallists from Kuwait, India and China all secured quota places for their countries.
The quota belongs to the country rather than to Vivaan personally, so he must still come through the Olympic Selection Trials before LA to earn a place on the Indian team. Vivaan, 24 or 25 depending on the report, was competing in his first-ever World Championship final and showed little sign of nerves. He said he had competed against these shooters before, thanked coach Peter Wilson, and described himself as being in good flow. He is only the fourth Indian trap shooter to win a World Championship medal.S1S2
India's quota haul builds on earlier results in Doha. Jaypal Malviya won silver in the men's 10m air pistol on November 5, and Niraj Kumar added bronze in the men's 50m rifle three positions on Wednesday. Vivaan and teammate Udaivir Singh Jaijee had qualified for the eight-man final after a seven-way tie at 120 out of 125, with Vivaan advancing in sixth place and Udaivir taking the last spot in a sudden-death shoot-off. Udaivir finished sixth in the final, while the Indian trap team of Vivaan, Udaivir and Zoravar Singh Sandhu finished fourth on countback.S1S2
The championship also brought disappointment. Double Olympic medallist Manu Bhaker reached two finals but did not secure a quota, finishing fourth in the 25m pistol. Elsewhere, India won a double podium in the men's 25m center fire pistol, with Ankur Goel taking individual silver and the Ankur, Amanpreet Singh and Rajkanwar Singh Sandhu team winning bronze. India sits second in the overall medal table with 13 medals, behind China's 27. This was the first ISSF event offering Olympic quota places, and more opportunities are due next year.S1S2
