India, Nov 10 : Indian shooting star Anish Bhanwala added a glittering chapter to his career by winning the silver medal in the senior individual category at the ISSF World Championship Rifle/Pistol in Cairo on competition day two. The 23-year-old showcased remarkable composure, surviving four intense shoot-offs to claim his first senior individual world championship medal.
Anish faced a double shoot off against Ukraine’s Maksym Horodynets, who eventually settled for bronze, before advancing to the final series to challenge France’s Clement Bessaguet for gold. Despite giving his best, Anish finished with silver, while Bessaguet secured the top spot, upgrading his consecutive silver medals in the championship to gold this time. Earlier, Anish had also survived another shoot-off for fourth place against Germany’s Emanuel Mueller.
“It is difficult to explain in words, but the feeling is completely unreal,” Anish said after the finals. “I have tried many times before; my preparation has been good but I could not deliver during competitions. This time, my training worked in my favour.” The medal also confirms his place in the World Cup Final in Doha next month.
Anish had qualified for the six-man final in second place with a score of 585-22x over two days. He maintained strong performance through the finals, starting with a perfect series and navigating multiple shoot-offs with precision. In the final series, he needed a perfect score to challenge Bessaguet but managed three hits, confirming the Frenchman’s gold medal.
Meanwhile, India’s Air Rifle mixed teams could not advance to the medal matches. Arjun Babuta and Elavenil Valarivan finished eighth with 632.3 points, narrowly missing out, while Rudrankksh Patil and Shreya Agrawal ended 21st with 628.8 points.
The spotlight now shifts to India’s pistol contingent, with Suruchi Singh, Manu Bhaker, and Esha Singh set to compete on Monday in the 10m Pistol event.