Olympian Anish Bhanwala wins 25m Rapid Fire Pistol gold at KSS Memorial Championship
Synopsis
Olympian Anish Bhanwala capped a strong showing at the KSS Memorial Championship by winning the men's 25m Rapid Fire Pistol gold with a final score of 31, edging out Madhya Pradesh's Suraj Sharma. In the junior category, Sharma himself dominated, taking gold in a dominant display across both age groups.
Key Takeaways
Anish Bhanwala (Railways) won 25m Rapid Fire Pistol Men gold with a final score of 31 at the 24th KSS Memorial Championship on 9 May .
Suraj Sharma (Madhya Pradesh) claimed silver in the men's event with 28 and gold in the junior men's event with 28 .
Vijayveer Sidhu (Punjab) secured men's bronze with 25 after a shoot-off.
In qualification, Ankur Goel (Uttarakhand) topped the men's field with 583-23x .
The championship was held at the Dr.
Karni Singh Shooting Range in New Delhi .
Anish Bhanwala, the Olympic shooter representing Railways, captured the gold medal in the 25m Rapid Fire Pistol Men event at the 24th Kumar Surendra Singh Memorial Shooting Championship on 9 May at the Dr. Karni Singh Shooting Range in New Delhi. Bhanwala's final-round score of 31 proved decisive on the podium.
Men's Final Results
Suraj Sharma of Madhya Pradesh secured silver with 28, while Punjab's Vijayveer Sidhu claimed bronze after a shoot-off, finishing with 25. The remaining placings saw Uttarakhand's Ankur Goel fourth with 20, Rajasthan's Bhavesh Shekhawat fifth with 17, Navy's Omkar Singh sixth with 11, Haryana's Gourav Gupta seventh with 7, and Delhi's Harsh Gupta eighth with 6.
Qualification Round Standings
The qualification phase was tightly contested at the top. Ankur Goel led the field with a score of 583-23x, marginally ahead of Suraj Sharma, who also posted 583 but with 14 inner tens. Anish Bhanwala qualified third with 582, followed by Harsh Gupta at 581. Vijayveer Sidhu secured the fifth spot with 580, Omkar Singh was sixth with 578, Bhavesh Shekhawat finished seventh with 577, and Gourav Gupta took the eighth qualification berth, also with 577.
Junior Men's Championship
Suraj Sharma of Madhya Pradesh also dominated the junior category, clinching gold in the 25m Rapid Fire Pistol Junior Men event with a final score of 28. Haryana's Sameer Gulia earned silver with 27, while Chandigarh's Unish Holinder captured bronze with 20. Rajasthan's Abhinav Choudhary finished fourth with 17, West Bengal's Sagnik Banerjee fifth with 11, Andhra Pradesh's Mukesh Nelavalli sixth with 7, BSF's Chandra Raj seventh with 6, and Delhi's Aditya Verma eighth with 4.
Junior Qualification Phase
Suraj Sharma topped the junior qualification round with 583-14x. Abhinav Choudhary qualified second with 580, while Mukesh Nelavalli was third with 574. Sameer Gulia secured fourth with 569, followed by Sagnik Banerjee and Chandra Raj, both posting 567. Unish Holinder qualified seventh with 566, and Aditya Verma took the final spot with 565.
Point of View
Sharma's dual gold (men's junior and qualification dominance) suggests a pipeline of talent ready to challenge established names. The KSS Memorial remains India's premier domestic shooting stage, and performances here often presage national team selections for international competitions.
NationPress
28 Jun 2026
Frequently Asked Questions
Who won the 25m Rapid Fire Pistol Men gold at the KSS Memorial Championship?
Olympian Anish Bhanwala, representing Railways, won the gold medal with a final score of 31 on 9 May at the Dr. Karni Singh Shooting Range in New Delhi.
What was Anish Bhanwala's qualification score?
Bhanwala qualified third in the men's event with a score of 582, behind Ankur Goel's 583-23x and Suraj Sharma's 583-14x.
Who won the 25m Rapid Fire Pistol Junior Men event?
Suraj Sharma of Madhya Pradesh won the junior men's gold with a final score of 28, also topping the qualification round with 583-14x.
What was the medal tally in the men's event?
Gold: Anish Bhanwala (31), Silver: Suraj Sharma (28), Bronze: Vijayveer Sidhu (25 after shoot-off).
