ISSF World Cup Cairo 2026: India Miss Finals
India Miss Out as France and Japan Win Mixed-Team Golds at ISSF World Cup Cairo 2026
France edge Latvia by 0.5 points in the air pistol final, while Japan beat Croatia by just 0.1 in air rifle as all four Indian pairs fall short of qualification.
India endured a disappointing day in the mixed-team events at the ISSF World Cup Cairo 2026, with a koll four Indian pairs missing out on the medal matches on October 10. France claimed the 10m air pistol gold after defeating Latvia by just 0.5 points, while Japan secured the 10m air rifle title in an even closer contest, beating Croatia by a single tenth of a point.
France鈥檚 Camille Jedrzejewski and Theo Moczko finished with 479.5 points to win the air pistol final. Japan鈥檚 Misaki Nobata and Naoki Hanakawa scored 500.4 in the air rifle final to edge Croatia鈥檚 Anamarija Turk and Miran Maricic, who finished on 500.3. The narrow margins made the opening finals day a showcase of how a single point fraction can decide a World Cup medal.
France Overcome Latvia to Claim Air Pistol Gold
France produced their best performance when it mattered most, with Jedrzejewski and Moczko combining for 479.5 points to secure the 10m air pistol mixed-team title. Latvia鈥檚 Agate Rasmane and Emils Vasermanis finished second with 479.0, while Ukraine鈥檚 Olena Kostevych and Pavlo Korostylov took bronze with 413.4. Great Britain鈥檚 Charlotte Hicks and James Miller placed fourth with 351.9.
Latvia had topped qualification with 582 points, ahead of Ukraine on 580 and Great Britain on 579. France qualified fourth with 578 but turned that position into gold in the final. The result highlighted the difference between qualifying consistently and delivering under pressure when every shot can change the standings.
India鈥檚 Air Pistol Pairs Miss the Final
India鈥檚 two air pistol teams were unable to reach the top four. Muskan Bhanwala and Udhayveer Singh finished 14th with 571 points and 23 inner tens. Muskan scored 286, with series of 95, 96 and 95, while Udhayveer contributed 285.
The second Indian pair, Palak Gulia and Ajendra Singh Chauhan, finished 16th with 569 points and 19 inner tens. Palak scored 289 across her three series, but the pair鈥檚 combined total was not enough to challenge the leading teams. India therefore had no representation in the air pistol medal match.
Japan Win Air Rifle Gold by Just 0.1 Points
The 10m air rifle mixed-team final delivered the closest finish of the day. Japan鈥檚 Nobata and Hanakawa scored 500.4 to defeat Croatia鈥檚 Turk and Maricic by just 0.1 points. Germany鈥檚 Anna Janssen and Maximilian Ulbrich won bronze with 436.8, while Serbia鈥檚 Andelija Stevanovic and Aleksa Rakonjac finished fourth with 373.7.
Croatia had led qualification with 633.3 points, followed by Serbia on 632.9, Japan on 632.8 and Germany on 632.4. Despite topping the qualification round, Croatia could not hold off Japan in the final. Nobata and Hanakawa maintained their composure in a tightly contested battle to secure the title.
The victory added to Japan鈥檚 recent success in the discipline. Nobata and Hanakawa had won bronze in the 10m air rifle mixed team event at the Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games the previous month, and their Cairo gold provided another major international result.
Indian Air Rifle Teams Also Fall Short
India鈥檚 air rifle pairs also missed qualification for the final. Khyati Chaudhary and Dhanush Srikanth finished 14th with a combined score of 629.2. Khyati recorded 314.1, scoring 104.9, 105.0 and 105.2 across her three series. Dhanush added 315.1 with scores of 104.7, 105.3 and 105.1.
The other Indian pair, Arya Bose and Paarth Makhija, finished 29th with 626.3 points. Arya scored 312.2, while Paarth contributed 314.1. Neither combination could match the four teams that progressed to the medal round.
What the Cairo Results Mean for Indian Shooting
The biggest disappointment for India was the failure of all four mixed-team pairs to advance. The results exposed the challenge of maintaining consistent scoring across both athletes in a discipline where small differences can determine qualification. With no Indian pair in either final, the country missed an opportunity to compete for two medals on the opening day of finals.
France and Japan, meanwhile, showed how quickly qualification rankings can be overturned when the final begins. France came through from fourth place in air pistol qualification to win gold, while Japan defeated the air rifle qualification leaders by only 0.1 points.
The ISSF World Cup Cairo 2026 runs from October 8 to 16 and features 385 athletes from 51 countries. As the competition continues, India will look to respond in the remaining individual events, while France and Japan can take confidence from two hard-fought mixed-team victories.
