New Delhi, Oct 17 (NationPress) After nearly 31 years since his first junior world championship and 27 years following his inaugural senior world title, Zoravar Singh Sandhu of India, at an impressive age of 48, has secured the men's trap bronze at the International Shooting Sports Federation (ISSF) World Championship Shotgun 2025.

Competing at the Malakasa Shooting Range in Athens, Greece, on Friday, the Indian shooter triumphed over adverse weather conditions, including rain and shadows, as well as the challenge of a less-than-ideal bib number. He successfully hit 31 of the first 40 targets in the 50-shot final. Zoravar finished behind Croatia's former Olympic champion and current world champion Josip Glasnovic, who took gold with 44 hits, and Spain's junior world champion Andres Garcia, who claimed silver with 39.

“It was an incredible experience. The conditions were challenging, but that’s part of the sport. I’m grateful to my family, coaches, and teammates for their unwavering support,” shared a visibly satisfied yet composed Zoravar post-competition.

National Rifle Association of India (NRAI) President, Kalikesh Narayan Singh Deo, expressed his excitement, stating, “This marks yet another historic moment for Indian shooting, with Zoravar earning only our second individual world championship medal in trap. It exemplifies the confidence of our shooting team as they continuously break new ground with every international competition. Kudos to Zoravar for his dedication, and to Peter Wilson and the coaching staff for their contributions to our Trap squad's improvement.”

Zoravar’s journey commenced early Friday, focusing first on qualification. He missed just one target out of 100 during the initial four rounds over two days.

Although he missed the seventh target, he scored 21 out of the first 22 before misfiring on the 23rd, landing a 23 in the final round. His total of 122 (24, 25, 25, 25, 23) over five rounds was sufficient, as overnight leader and former world silver medalist Anton Glasnovic equaled the world record with a perfect score of 125.

Anton’s brother, Josip, qualified second with 124, while American world No. 2 William Hinton came in third with 123. Zoravar entered a three-way shoot-off with Garcia and Frenchman Antonin Desert, being the first to miss, thus starting the six-man final with the highest bib number of six, a significant disadvantage, as ties before the last 10 targets meant he would be eliminated.

In the final, Zoravar missed his second target first but managed to hit nine out of the first ten, placing fifth initially. Josip’s first miss occurred on the 12th target, while Anton, who had been flawless over three days, faltered with four misses after the first 15.

As rain began to fall, Zoravar was tied for second with 13 hits. Despite a streak of three consecutive misses, he persevered, as Hinton was the first to exit after 25 targets.

Desert followed, and as the sun and shadows shifted, Anton’s focus waned, leading to four misses in his final ten, placing him fourth after 35 targets and securing Zoravar a much-coveted world championship medal.

Though needing a perfect five to contend for gold, Zoravar missed three of his last five, ultimately settling for bronze as Josip secured gold and Garcia maintained silver.

The women’s trap gold was claimed by Mar Molne Magrina of Spain, who shot 46 in the women’s final, outpacing Silvana Maria Stanco by four hits. Stanco once again settled for silver after narrowly missing gold in the Paris Olympics final. Sandra Bernal of Poland earned bronze.

Saturday (Oct 18) will mark the final day of competition, where the last medals will be awarded in the newest Olympic event, the Trap Mixed Team. India has two teams competing, aiming for a second medal from this championship.

Other scores and positions from the day:

Trap women:

Aashima Ahlawat - 40th, 109 (20, 19, 22, 23, 25)

Neeru - 43rd, 109 (23, 19, 23, 21, 23)

Kirti Gupta - 62nd, 101 (20, 22, 21, 19, 19)

Trap Men:

Vivaan Kapoor - 52nd, 116 (23, 25, 22, 24, 22)

Bhowneesh Mendiratta - 76th, 114 (22, 25, 25, 22, 20).