Akhil Sheoran clinched a bronze medal in the men's 50m rifle 3-position event at the ISSF World Cup Final 2024 in New Delhi on Wednesday. With Akhil's bronze, India jumped to the joint-sixth position in the shooting World Cup final medal table.
The 29-year-old Akhil defeated China's Liu Yukun with a total score of 452 in the men's rifle three positions to produce a second medal in the World Cup. After some disappointing results from Ashi Chouksey and Nischal, the 2022 Asian Games gold medalist brought some smiles to the home fans with a bronze.
Sonam Maskar produced India's first medal with a silver in the women's 10m air rifle on Tuesday but it has been a disappointing campaign for other Indian shooters in New Delhi. China are dominating the top position with seven medals, including four gold in the medal table already.
Akhil was making a comeback after an injury shattered his dreams of participating in the recent Paris Olympics 2024 where India bagged three bronze medals in shooting. Akhil had already secured a Paris quota but missed the selection trials due to an injury.
After a bronze in the World Cup, Akhil revealed that he is looking to overcome Paris' heartbreak and has already set his eyes on the 2026 Asian Games and the next Summer Olympic Games in Los Angeles in 2028.
"I want to set my goals higher so that I can push myself more and improve my standard further, shoot better scores and improve the colours of my medals," Akhil told PTI. "That will give me a big confidence boost in the lead-up to the next Olympics."
ISSF World Cup Final 2024 medal tally
| Standing | Teams | G | S | B | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | China | 4 | 0 | 3 | 7 |
| 2. | Germany | 1 | 2 | 0 | 3 |
| 3. | France | 1 | 1 | 1 | 3 |
| 4. | Hungary | 1 | 1 | 0 | 2 |
| 5. | Denmark | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| 6. | Czech Republic | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 |
| 6. | India | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 |
| 8. | Norway | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| 8. | Chinese Taipei | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| 10. | Egypt | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| 10. | Italy | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
