Vivaan Kapoor Wins Trap Silver in Doha, Secures India's Third LA28 Olympic Quota

Vivaan Kapoor secured India's third shooting quota place for the Los Angeles 2028 Olympic Games after winning silver in the men's trap final at the ISSF World Championship in Doha on Thursday. 

His achievement also contributed to India's growing medal tally, with the country adding three podium finishes across the day's competitions.

Competing at the Lusail Shooting Complex on November 12, Vivaan finished with 29 hits in the eight-shooter final, level with Kuwait's Abdulrahman Alfaihan. The gold medal was decided through a sudden-death shoot-off, where Alfaihan edged past the Indian 3-2. China's Qi Ying claimed bronze with 22 hits.

The silver medal carries significance beyond the podium finish, as it secured India's third overall quota place for the LA28 Olympic Games at the ongoing championship.

Vivaan's quota-winning performance follows two earlier successes by Indian shooters in Doha. Jaypal Malviya opened India's LA28 quota account on November 5 by winning silver in the men's 10m air pistol. Niraj Kumar then secured the second quota place on Wednesday with a bronze medal in the men's 50m rifle 3 positions.

Vivaan's silver in the men's trap adds another qualification place to India's tally, strengthening the country's position across shooting disciplines ahead of the next Olympic cycle.

India's performance in Doha has highlighted its depth across rifle, pistol and shotgun events, with athletes contributing medals and Olympic quotas in different categories.

Seven-way qualification tie sets up dramatic final

The men's trap qualification produced a closely contested battle for the eight places in the medal round. Two Indian shooters, Vivaan and Udaivir Singh Jaijee, progressed after finishing with identical scores of 120 out of 125.

Vivaan's qualification rounds were 25, 24, 24, 24 and 23. He eventually secured sixth place after hitting six targets in the qualification shoot-off. Udaivir recorded the same sequence of scores and also finished on 120. He prevailed in a sudden-death shoot-off, scoring 3+0, to claim the eighth and final qualifying position.

In the final, Udaivir registered 11 hits and finished sixth, behind Great Britain's Nathan Hales, who also recorded 11 but placed higher on qualification ranking. The Indian team therefore had two representatives in the eight-man medal round, with Vivaan going on to secure the silver medal and the Olympic quota.

The Indian men's trap trio of Vivaan Kapoor, Udaivir Singh Jaijee and Zoravar Singh Sandhu also competed in the team event. India finished fourth with a combined score of 354, built through five rounds of 73, 68, 72, 72 and 69. The team tied with Poland, which won silver, and Czechia, which secured bronze.

However, the Indian team missed out on the podium on countback because of its lower score in the final round. Kuwait won the team gold medal with 356. Vivaan and Udaivir both contributed 120, while Zoravar finished with 114 and placed 55th in the individual qualification standings.

India's medal-winning day in Doha extended beyond the shotgun range, with Ankur Goel producing two podium finishes in the men's 25m centre fire pistol competition. Ankur claimed individual silver with a total of 583-19x. He scored 292 in the precision stage and followed it with 291 in the rapid stage.

Latvia's Ernests Erbs won gold with 588-24x, while Czechia's Jindrich Dubovy took bronze with 582-26x. Ankur then joined Amanpreet Singh and Rajkanwar Singh Sandhu in the team event, where the Indian trio secured bronze with an aggregate score of 1727-57x.

Amanpreet finished ninth individually with 578-19x, while Rajkanwar recorded 566-19x to place 23rd. Ukraine captured team gold with 1735-47x, ahead of the Republic of Korea, which finished second with 1731-46x.

The two podium finishes made Ankur one of India's standout performers on Thursday, contributing to the country's overall medal count in Doha.

India second in overall medal standings

Following Thursday's results, India occupy second place in the overall medal standings with 13 medals: two gold, seven silver and four bronze. China lead the championship with 27 medals, comprising 13 gold, six silver and eight bronze. The Republic of Korea are third with 10 medals, including two gold, five silver and three bronze.

With Vivaan's silver securing India's third LA28 quota place and Ankur adding two more medals, Thursday proved another productive day for the Indian shooting contingent. The championship continues to provide Indian shooters with opportunities to compete against the world's leading marksmen while pursuing both podium finishes and Olympic qualification places. Vivaan's performance in the men's trap final is particularly significant, giving India another quota for Los Angeles 2028 and adding to an already strong campaign in Doha.