Anish Bhanwala creates history with World Championship silver

Indian shooter Anish Bhanwala has etched his name in the history books, becoming the first Indian to win a medal in the men’s 25m rapid fire pistol event at the ISSF World Championships. Bhanwala secured a historic silver medal in the final held in Cairo, Egypt, on Sunday.

This victory marks a significant comeback for Bhanwala, following a challenging run at the Paris Olympics where he finished 13th and missed the finals. Rather than letting the Olympic result dampen his spirits, he viewed it as a crucial learning curve. After a four-month break to reset mentally and physically, his return to the range has been spectacular.

Reaching the final in Cairo was no easy feat. Bhanwala shot an impressive qualification score of 585-22x, entering the medal round in second place. The final itself was a test of nerves, featuring intense shoot-offs that could have rattled any athlete.

Bhanwala displayed remarkable composure during these high-pressure moments. He successfully navigated multiple shoot-offs, first edging out Emanuel Mueller to guarantee himself a medal. Later, in another tense shootout for third place against Maksym Horodynets, Bhanwala held his nerve to secure the silver, while France's Clement Bessaguet took the gold.

Speaking after the win, Anish Bhanwala admitted that while shoot-offs can be mentally draining, he kept his focus strictly on his technique. This mature approach has drawn praise from veteran shooters like London Olympics silver medallist Vijay Kumar Sharma, who noted Bhanwala's rapid development into a "mature" shooter at the senior level.

This historic silver in Cairo not only ends Bhanwala's personal disappointments from previous World Championships in 2018, 2022, and 2023 but also sets a new benchmark for Indian shooting on the global stage.