Indian marksman Jaypal Malviya has scripted a historic achievement by claiming the silver medal in the men's 10-meter air pistol event at the ISSF World Championship held in Doha. Alongside the podium finish, the young athlete successfully secured the very first quota for India in shooting for the upcoming 2028 Los Angeles Olympic Games. Competing in a high-stakes final featuring eight elite shooters, the Indian contender accumulated a total of 242.2 points to finish second.
Tough Competition and Early Fluctuations
The gold medal in the event was clinched by China's Kai Hu with a score of 243.9 points, while Jindrich Dubovy of the Czech Republic took home the bronze medal with 220.9 points. Prior to the medal round, Jaypal Malviya had carved his path into the final by securing the third position during the qualification stage, where he shot an aggregate score of 585 points across six series. The final began with a mix of ups and downs for the Indian shooter. During the second attempt of the initial five-shot series, he managed 9.2 points, but quickly recovered on his final shot with a solid 10.6 to wrap up the first series with 50.5 points, placing him third behind the early leader Kai Hu.
Climbing Back Under Intense Pressure
As the match progressed into the ten-shot series, the contest grew fiercely competitive. Despite firing a strong 10.8 point shot, Jaypal Malviya temporarily slipped to the fourth spot with a cumulative score of 100.0 points, while Jindrich Dubovy moved into third place with 100.5 points. Refusing to buckle under pressure, the Indian shooter bounced back brilliantly with a 10.7 point effort that drew loud applause from the spectators, while Islam Shamsutdinov fell behind and was eliminated from the competition. Continuing his upward surge, Jaypal Malviya followed up with another 10.7 points while his Chinese opponent scored 10.9, propelling the Indian into second place and closing the gap to just 0.5 points behind the leader.
Securing the Olympic Berth and Continuing Momentum
This crucial performance officially guaranteed India its first shooting quota for the 2028 Olympic Games. Although a slight dip occurred when he scored 9.7 points, pushing him 0.9 points behind the leader Kai Hu, he responded immediately under pressure by shooting 10.7 points. Jindrich Dubovy eventually settled for the bronze medal, which also earned him an Olympic quota. Hailing from Madhya Pradesh, Jaypal Malviya has been rapidly establishing his prominence in the upper echelons of Indian shooting talent. Earlier in 2026, he made a strong statement at the national level by winning the gold medal in the men's 10m air pistol event at the first national selection trials held at the Dr. Karni Singh Shooting Range in New Delhi, where he bounced back from a seventh-place qualification finish to score 245.6 in the final. Earlier that year, he had also participated in the ISSF World Cup in Hangzhou, narrowly missing out on a finals spot despite shooting 585 in the qualification round.
