Doha [Qatar], Nov 3: India clinched the men's 50m pistol team gold medal at the ongoing ISSF World Championships in Doha on Tuesday, with Ravinder Singh, Saurabh Chaudhary and Amanpreet Singh combining for a total of 1,659-24x.

Ravinder led the Indian contingent with a score of 559-11x, while Saurabh contributed 551-7x and Amanpreet added 549-6x to secure the top spot for India.

Adding to India's medal haul, Ravinder also won the individual silver medal in the men's 50m pistol event. He finished with 559-11x, just two points behind Anton Aristarkhov of the Authorised Neutral Athletes (AIN), who claimed gold with 561-9x. Romania's Luca Joldea secured the bronze medal with 558-5x.

China finished second in the men's 50m pistol team event with a combined score of 1,648-26x, while South Korea took bronze with 1,643-26x.

The Chinese team comprised Zhang Bingchen (555-12x), Lyu Junyi (549-7x) and Feng Linlang (544-7x). South Korea's Hong Suhyeon, Choe Boram and So Seung Seob combined for 1,643-26x to finish third.

The ongoing World Championships in Doha hold particular significance for Indian shooters as the competition serves as the first qualification event for the Los Angeles 2028 Olympic Games. Described as the biggest qualification event of the Olympic cycle, the championship offers 36 Olympic quota places across the 12 individual events, with three spots available in each event.

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With shooting not offering any Olympic quota places at the recently concluded Asian Games, the Doha championships mark India's first opportunity to secure berths for Los Angeles 2028.

Each country can secure a maximum of one quota place per event, giving India a chance to claim up to 12 Olympic berths at the competition, according to a press release from the National Rifle Association of India (NRAI). (ANI)