Aishwary Pratap Singh Tomar Claims Silver, equals World record at ISSF World Championships

Olympian Aishwary Pratap Singh Tomar added another feather to India’s shooting glory by winning the silver medal in the men’s 50m rifle 3 positions event at the ISSF World Championships held in Cairo on Tuesday. The 24-year-old shooter achieved the milestone after equalling the world record during the qualification round earlier in the day.

Aishwary, who hails from Madhya Pradesh, shot 466.9 in the final to secure second place, narrowly missing the gold by a margin of 0.2 points to China’s Yukun Liu, who finished with 467.1. France’s Romain Aufrere claimed the bronze with 454.8. Fellow Indian shooter Niraj Kumar, who also qualified for the final, was placed fifth with a score of 432.6.

In the qualification round, Aishwary had displayed exceptional form by scoring 597-40x, which equalled the world record mark in the category. Niraj Kumar also advanced to the final with a creditable score of 592.

The latest achievement added to Aishwary’s growing list of international laurels. He had earlier represented India at the Tokyo 2020 Olympics, where he was noted for his promising debut performance. His breakthrough on the senior circuit came with a gold medal at the ISSF World Cup in New Delhi (2021), followed by another gold in Changwon (2022) and a bronze at the ISSF World Cup Final in Cairo (2022).

Aishwary’s success continued at the Asian Games 2022 (held in 2023, Hangzhou), where he clinched the team gold and individual bronze in the 50m rifle 3 positions event. Earlier, as a junior shooter, he had earned gold medals at the ISSF Junior World Championships (Lima, 2021) and the ISSF Junior World Cup (Suhl, 2019), setting multiple junior world records in the process.

For his consistent excellence, Aishwary was honoured with the Arjuna Award in 2022, marking him as one of India’s most dependable and disciplined shooting talents.

With the latest silver in Cairo, Aishwary has reaffirmed his status as one of India’s leading rifle shooters on the global stage, showcasing a blend of composure, skill, and precision that continues to inspire India’s next generation of marksmen.