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ISSF World Championship: format, events and India's route to LA 2028 quotas

Indian shooters are aiming for Paris 2024 and Los Angeles 2028 spots.

By , Editor

· 2 min read

Apex Sports News graphic: ISSF World Championship: format, events and India's route to LA 2028 quotas
Photo: Apex Sports News graphic

Indian shooters are aiming for Paris 2024 and Los Angeles 2028 spots.

Key takeaways

  • The ISSF World Championship is held in rifle, pistol, shotgun and running target disciplines.
  • The 2022 Rifle/Pistol World Championships in Cairo featured 70 total events across men's, women's and mixed categories.
  • China won the medal table at the 2022 Rifle/Pistol World Championships.
  • A maximum of three athletes per country may compete in one World Cup Final event.
  • ISSF anti-doping procedures and minimum participation numbers must be met for records to count.

The International Shooting Sport Federation (ISSF) World Championships are international shooting competitions organized by the ISSF.

What is the ISSF World Championship?

The ISSF World Championships are international shooting competitions organized by the International Shooting Sport Federation. Running target events have been sporadically included; the last time was 1983. Immediately after World War II, 300 metre standard rifle was added along with 25 metre center-fire pistol and skeet.

Specific women's events began to be slowly added from 1958, although women had previously, and at times successfully, been allowed to compete alongside the men.

When and where is it?

The first Rifle/Pistol World Championships were organized by the ISSF in 2022 in Cairo, Egypt, separate from the Shotgun and Running target events. The second edition is scheduled for 2025 in Cairo, Egypt.

Who is taking part?

For individual senior events, fifteen athletes are required for a genuine championship. For junior individuals, ten athletes are required. For team events, at least five teams are required. Within one event, only a maximum of three athletes per country will be permitted to compete in the World Cup Final.

How does it work?

The competition finishes and the results become final. Provisional or protested results do not enter the process. The ISSF Technical Delegate at the championship reports the score using the official World Record Form.

On that form the Delegate confirms three things: the championship was conducted according to ISSF rules and regulations, the participation requirements were fulfilled, and ISSF anti-doping procedures were followed. The Technical Committee verifies the reported record. Qualification and finals sit apart from each other.

A qualification record reflects the long grind of a 60-shot competition, while finals records live in the decimal-scoring world of the last eight or twenty-four shots, where tenth-points separate shooters who tied in qualification.

What are the events?

The following events will be conducted during the ISSF World Cup Final 2026: 10m Air Rifle Men, 10m Air Rifle Women, 50m Rifle 3 Positions Men, 50m Rifle 3 Positions Women, 10m Air Pistol Men, 10m Air Pistol Women, 25m Rapid Fire Pistol Men, 25m Pistol Women, Trap Men, Trap Women, Skeet Men, and Skeet Women. All events will be conducted according to the current ISSF Rules.

Why it matters

The Technical Delegate is not vouching for the score alone; they are vouching for the entire competition that produced it. If participation fell short of the minimums the rules set for a genuine championship, the form cannot honestly be signed.

What happens next

Apart from those athletes qualified through the World Cup Final qualification system, the three medalists of the ISSF World Championships 2026 as well as the Title Defender from the World Cup Final 2025 will have the right to compete.

The rule of only a maximum of three athletes per country in one event will not apply to these athletes.

If a World Championships Medalist is also World Cup Final Title Defender, the top three ranked athletes in the Qualification Ranking in that specific event will qualify.

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