Indian trap shooter Vivaan Kapoor won the silver medal in the men’s trap event at the ISSF World Championships in Doha, Qatar, on Thursday, 12 November 2026. The 24 year old from Jaipur hit 29 of 30 targets in the final and lost the gold only in a shoot off to Kuwait’s Abdulrahman Al Faihan, India Today reported. His podium finish also won India a quota place in shooting for the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics.
China’s Qi Ying, the Paris Olympics silver medallist, took bronze and the third quota on offer. Paris Olympic champion Nathan Hales of Great Britain finished fifth.
Table of Contents
How Vivaan Kapoor lost gold by one target
The final was shot over 30 targets, with shooters dropping out in stages. Kapoor and Al Faihan shared the lead with a perfect 25 of 25 after five series, The Indian Express reported, while the rest of a strong field fell away. Reigning world champion and Rio Olympic champion Josip Glasnovic of Croatia was among the first to go out.
Kapoor’s only miss in regulation came on his 28th shot, which let Al Faihan draw level. Both men ended on 29, one short of a perfect 30. In the shoot off, both hit their first two targets before Kapoor missed his third and the Kuwaiti hit his to take the title. India Today described Al Faihan as a 40 year old former junior world champion and three time Asian champion.
The New Indian Express noted it was Kapoor’s first appearance in a World Championship final. India’s second finalist, Udaivir Singh Jaijee, finished sixth with 11 hits. Both Indians had reached the final after scoring 120 of 125 in qualification and coming through a shoot off among several tied shooters. Hales topped qualifying with 123.
What Vivaan Kapoor said after the final
Kapoor thanked his coaches and said he had simply concentrated on his own shooting. “I guess I just gave my best. I focused on my job like always,” he said, as quoted by India Today. “I’ve played against a couple of these shooters before, so that experience helped me.”
On the quota, he said: “I feel that it’s a great thing that I could do for the country and I’m very happy that now we have a quota.” Kapoor trains with personal coach Giovanni Cernogoraz, and the Indian squad works with foreign coach Peter Wilson, the London Olympics champion.
Wilson told The Indian Express that the team had been simulating finals at national camps. “Vivaan delivered on the world stage when it mattered and now the journey towards LA starts,” he said.
Why is this medal significant for Indian shooting?
Kapoor is only the fourth Indian man to win a World Championship medal in trap. Karni Singh won silver in 1962, Manavjit Singh Sandhu won gold in 2006 in Zagreb, and Zoravar Singh Sandhu took bronze at the previous edition in Cairo, according to India Today. Sandhu’s 2006 win remains India’s only men’s trap world title.
In Olympic shotgun events, India’s best known result remains Rajyavardhan Singh Rathore’s double trap silver at the 2004 Athens Olympics. A world medal in trap, with an Olympic quota attached, puts Kapoor among India’s leading shotgun shooters ahead of Los Angeles.
How many LA 2028 quotas has India won in shooting?
Kapoor’s silver gave India its third shooting quota for Los Angeles 2028, all won at these championships. Jaypal Malviya won the first with a silver in the men’s 10m air pistol, the New Indian Express reported on 5 November. Niraj Kumar added the second with bronze in the men’s 50m rifle three positions on 11 November.
A quota belongs to the country, not the shooter who earns it. The National Rifle Association of India will pick its Olympic team on performances in the build up to the Games, the New Indian Express explained, so Kapoor still has to earn his own place in Los Angeles.
Who is Vivaan Kapoor?
Kapoor was junior Asian champion in 2019 and won silver at the World Junior Championships in 2021, The Indian Express reported. His biggest senior result before Doha was a silver at the ISSF World Cup Final in New Delhi in 2024. Earlier this year he partnered Neeru Dhanda to a trap mixed team bronze at an ISSF World Cup in Kazakhstan.
He began training at 13 under Mansher Singh, now India’s high performance manager, who watched the final from the stands. “Vivaan came when he was 13 and would train till the age of 18 with me,” Singh told The Indian Express, adding that they worked on fitness and mental training before technique.
Near miss in the team event
India also came close in the men’s trap team event. Kapoor, Jaijee and Zoravar Singh Sandhu scored 354, level with Poland and the Czech Republic, but finished fourth on countback. Kuwait won gold with 356, India Today reported.
The women’s trap team of Pragati Dubey, Manisha Keer and Neeru Dhanda finished seventh with 322, and none of them reached the individual final. For a wider look at the country’s record at the Games, see our guide to India’s performance in the Olympics and the career of fellow shooter Gagan Narang.
Featured image photo: Martin Kotačka, CC BY SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons. It shows a trap shooter on an outdoor range and is used here only as an illustration. It does not show Vivaan Kapoor and was not taken at the World Championships.
FAQ
Who won the men’s trap gold at the 2026 ISSF World Championships?
Kuwait’s Abdulrahman Al Faihan won gold after beating India’s Vivaan Kapoor in a shoot off. Both had scored 29 of 30 in the final. China’s Qi Ying won bronze.
Does Vivaan Kapoor’s quota mean he will compete at LA 2028?
Not automatically. Olympic quota places in shooting belong to the country, and the National Rifle Association of India selects the team later based on performance.
Sources
- India Today, 12 November 2026: final result, shoot off, scores, Vivaan Kapoor’s quotes, Indian medal history, team and women’s events.
- The Indian Express, 12 November 2026: final field and progress, Peter Wilson and Mansher Singh comments, Kapoor’s junior and senior record.
- The New Indian Express, 12 November 2026: first World Championship final, quota count.
- The New Indian Express, 5 November 2026: Jaypal Malviya’s air pistol silver, first quota and NRAI selection policy.
- The New Indian Express, 11 November 2026: Niraj Kumar’s 50m rifle three positions bronze and second quota.