Welcome to our live coverage of the ISSF World Cup 2025, currently underway in Lima, Peru, from April 13 to 22, 2025.

In this LIVE blog we will update you with medal tally, India's results across compettions on daily basis. 

On day 1 of the ISS World Cup 2025, India’s Suruchi Singh clinched her second consecutive gold in the Women’s 10m Air Pistol, while Manu Bhaker secured silver.

Saurabh Chaudhary added a bronze in the Men’s 10m Air Pistol.

The pair of Saurabh Chaudhary and Suruchi Singh went on to win the Gold medal in the 10m mixed pistol event on day 2. 

Stay tuned for more updates as the world’s top shooters, including Olympic champions, battle for podium finishes at the Dr. Karni Singh Shooting Range in Peru.

Paris Olympics medallist Manu Bhaker reached the finals of the 25m Pistol event at the ongoing ISSF World Cup here but failed to secure podium finishes as India failed to win a single medal on Wednesday.

Manu lost by one point

Two-time Olympic bronze medallist shooter Manu finished sixth in the eight-shooter final of the 25m pistol event after finishing fifth in the qualifying round with a total score of 588. Bhaker shot 290 in precision and a superb 298 in the rapid fire round to aggregate 588 going into the finals. However, the medal round didn’t go as expected, Manu missed the chance to move further in the final.

Sun Yujie captured gold

It was a hat-trick of gold medals for the 20-year-old Sun Yujie of China as she beat Oh Yejin of Korea 38-36. Sun had won the gold medals in the last two World Cups in Buenos Aires and Lima.

Chain Singh placed seventh

In the men’s 50-metre rifle 3-position event, Olympian Chain Singh made the final with an impressive score of 592 but eventually placed seventh. Jon-Hermann Hegg of Norway won gold, which put the team in second place on the medals table, behind China, which has won the other three gold medals so far.

ISSF World Cup: Results so far

Multiple Asian Games medallist Esha Singh finished 11th with a combined ‘precision’ and ‘rapid fire’ score of 585 and could not make it to the eight-shooter final. The other Indian in the fray Simranpreet Kaur Brar tallied 577 to finish 32nd.

Meanwhile, Paris Olympics bronze medallist Swapnil Kusale and Ankush Jadhav shot 587 and 580 to finish 38th and 67th respectively.

In the men’s air pistol on Tuesday, Varun Tomar had made the final but finished sixth. Thus, India has only the bronze medal so far, won by Elavenil Valarivan in women’s air rifle in the ISSF World Cup.

Four players, including Manu Bhaker, who won two Olympic medals at the Paris Olympics 2024, and World Chess Championship winner Indian Grandmaster D Gukesh will be honored with the Major Dhyan Chand Khel Ratna Award 2024. The National Sports Award 2024 has been announced by the Sports Ministry on Thursday.

Also Read: Beatrice Chebet becomes the first woman to run 5km under 14 minutes in Barcelona

Apart from Manu and Gukesh, Indian men's hockey team captain Harmanpreet Singh and Paralympian Praveen Kumar will also be given the Khel Ratna Award 2024. 

The award ceremony will take place on January 17, 2025, at Rashtrapati Bhavan in New Delhi.

Khel Ratna Award 2024: Winners List

Manu won double medal in Paris Olympics

Manu Bhaker, 22, became the first player from independent India to win two medals in the same Olympics when she won bronze medals in the 10m air pistol individual and mixed team events at the Paris Games in August. On the basis of his two medals, India won a total of 6 medals in the Paris.

18 year old Gukesh is the new youngest world champion

18-year-old Indian Grandmaster Gukesh Dommaraju became the youngest world champion and was also instrumental in the Indian team's historic gold medal in the Chess Olympiad last year. He defeated defending champion Ding Liren of China in the final.

Gukesh has become the first player in the world to win the title at such a young age. Earlier in 1985, Russia's Garry Kasparov had won this title at the age of 22.

Harmanpreet-led India won bronze in Paris

Under the captaincy of Harmanpreet Singh, the Indian hockey team won a medal for the second consecutive Olympics. They won the bronze medal in the Paris Olympics and the gold medal in the Asian Games 2022. At the same time, Harmanpreet has won the title of Player of the Year at FIH Awards three times.

Praveen won Paralympic gold with a record in high jump

Para high jumper Praveen Kumar surprised everyone by winning the gold medal with an Asian record in the men's high jump at the Paris Paralympics. Praveen, who won a silver medal in the Tokyo Paralympics, gave the best performance of his career in the T64 event and registered his name in history by clearing a height of 2.08 meters.

Hello and welcome to Sportz Point's coverage of India at the 2024 Summer Paralympics in Paris.

Indian athletes will compete for the first time in Para-cycling, Para-judo, and Para-rowing in the Paralympic Games. Indian competitors will aim to surpass their previous record of 19 medals from the Tokyo Paralympics 2020. The competitors have already brought 4 medals to India including a gold.

On Day 2, Preeti Pal became India's first Paralympian medallist in a track event. She finished at 14.21 to grab the bronze medal in the Women’s 100m T35 finals. Manish Narwal won silver in the Men's 10m Air Pistol SH1 Final with 234.9 points at the Paralympics 2024 in Paris. 

Avani Lekhara won the gold medal in the Women’s 10m air rifle standing SH1 category with a score of 249.7. She also made a Paralympic record. Mona Agarwal, on the other hand, won bronze in the women’s 10m air rifle standing final with a score of 228.7. 

This is Abishek Goswami and I'll be joined later by Payal Debnath and Koushik Biswas to bring you all the updates from the web desk. 

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Stay tuned for all the live updates.

17-year-old pistol marksman Rudransh Khandelwal is ready to make his debut in the Paris Paralympics 2024. He lost his leg when he was just eight years old but he overcame everything in his way to become the world No.1 in 50m pistol (SH1) and is now aiming for gold in his maiden Paralympics.

Read Also: India at Paralympics 2024: Day 1 Schedule and Fixture

Rudransh Khandelwal eyes gold In maiden Paris Paralympics 2024

Seeing shooter Manu Bhaker struggling with a pistol malfunction during the Tokyo Olympics was a "lesson" for Rudransh. He now always carries a spare pistol for both domestic and international competitions.

"Like the weapon malfunction during competition, how to quickly get used to the other (spare) weapon and shoot. I prepare myself for every eventuality in the competition, including a delayed match, a shot getting canceled, or any other eventuality. So, if at all an adverse situation arises, I will be ready to handle it," said Rudransh.

Manu had a pistol malfunction during the 10m competitions in Tokyo which cost her a place in the final.

"That (Manu incident) gave me that thought (to always keep a spare weapon). You might have confidence in your abilities but the weapon is only a piece of equipment, which can malfunction anytime. Following that incident, every shooter gives priority to a spare weapon," Rudransh said.

His prosthetic leg broke just 15 minutes before the start of a domestic competition. It was another lesson for Rudransh to be ready with a toolkit to promptly repair the contraption.

"It's happened 15-20 minutes before a match when my prosthetic leg broke. Now I keep a toolkit to quickly repair it. And, if it happens again, I am ready for it," said Rudransh

"There was a short-circuit in the electronic gadget controlling the fireworks and a flying metal plate severed my left leg just below the knee. I was taken to a hospital in Bharatpur from where I was referred to Jaipur and then to a hospital in Gurugram but my leg couldn't be saved. So, the next thing was a prosthetic leg," Rudransh shared how he lost his leg in an accident.

Rudransh started his career with 10m air pistol. It took him seven years to get into the national squad. 

"I could not stand on my prosthetic leg for more than 2-3 hours during practice. He (coach) continued to work on me and from 2-3 hours, it became 7-8 hours. I'm 17 years old and continue to grow, so every month the prosthetic leg has to be readjusted. I have had four prosthetic leg replacements since I lost my leg. Recently, with the help of TOPS (Target Olympic Podium Scheme) funding, I have been able to afford a high-end adjustable leg costing Rs 8 lakh," he added.

There are lots of expectations from the Indian fans. The fans are expecting nothing less than a gold from the young lad and Rudransh is also confident. He said multiple times that he is absolutely ready for the competition.

Indian para-athletes are set to represent the nation at the 2024 Paralympic Games, set to take place from August 28 to September 8. A total of 84 athletes from India will be competing in the Paralympic games. India had their best campaign in the Paralympics in 2021, where they won 19 medals, including five gold, eight silver, and six bronze medals. Now, the Indian para-athletes will be looking to upgrade their performance in the upcoming Paralympic games in Paris. 

Read Also: India At Paralympics 2024: Full fixture, schedule and streaming details

India at Paralympics 2024: Key Indian Athletes to watch

Avani Lekhara

Para-shooter Avani Lekhara will be among the top medal containers for India in the 2024 Paralympics games. She won two medals in Tokyo including a gold in the 10m air rifle SH1 and a bronze in the 50m rifle 3 positions SH1. Avani also won two gold and one silver in the 2022 Para Shooting World Cup and won gold in the 2022 Para Asian Games. She has been consistent and the Indian fans will be hoping her to drop some brilliant performances and win medals for India in Paris 2024.

Manashi Joshi

Manasi Joshi is set to make her debut in the Paralympics this year. She won a gold medal in the 2019 BWF Para-Badminton World Championships. She has two silver and four medals to her name in the World Championship. Manasi also won one silver and a bronze in the 2022 Para Asian Games and will be trying her best to win a medal for India in her first appearance in the Paralympic Games.

Harvinder Singh

Harvinder Singh, the para-archer who won the bronze medal in the Individual recurve open category in the 2021 Tokyo Paralympics will be representing India in the Summer Paralympics 2024 in Paris. He also won a bronze in the 2022 Para Asian Games. Harvinder will be looking to add another medal to his list in the upcoming Paralympic games, starting from 28th August.

Sheetal Devi

The 17-year-old Indian para archer Sheetal Devi will be making her Paralympics debut in Paris 2024. She was born with a rare medical condition called phocomelia due to which she plays archery using her legs. Despite this, she has won two gold and one silver in the 2022 Para Asian Games. She would like to have a dream debut in the upcoming Paralympics in Paris. 

Sumit Patel

Para-javelin thrower Sumit Patel will be one of the players to watch out for in the upcoming Paralympics Games. He won the gold medal in the 2021 Paralympic Games in Tokyo. He added more gold to his bag during the Para Athletics World Championship in 2023 and 2024. He also won gold in the 2023 Para Asian Games in Hangzhou where he had his career-best throw of 73.29 meters. Sumit has been very consistent for India and hasn't won anything less than a gold. There will be high hopes for him.

Read Also: India at Paralympics: How many medals has India won so far?

India's Paralympic Journey

The Paralympic Games started in 1960. India sent an Indian contingent for the first time in 1968. The Paralympic journey started for India long after the Summer Olympics. The country has won 31 medals so far in the Paralympics, including 9 gold, 12 silver, and 10 bronze medals in 11 editions.

Murlikant Petkar, the hero of the 1965 Indo-Pak war, is India's first Paralympic medal winner. Murlikant Petkar won the gold medal in swimming in the Men's 50m Freestyle 3 event at the 1972 Heidelberg Games. Petkar, a soldier of the Corps of Electronics and Mechanical Engineers (EME) in the Indian Army, was a boxer. He became paralyzed after being shot during the India-Pakistan war of 1965. After this, he started swimming and brought the gold medal to India.

India's best campaign was the 2019 Paralympics. 54 athletes participated in the Tokyo Paralympics and won a maximum of 19 medals which included 5 gold, 8 silver, and 6 bronze medals. India finished 24th in the overall medal tally at Tokyo across 162 nations.

Impact of the 2024 Paralympics on Indian Sports

The 2024 Paralympics in Paris will have a significant impact on Indian sports if the athletes achieve the success we are expecting from them. The success of Indian athletes at the Paralympics can raise the number of para-sports in India. Media will highlight the athletes with disabilities, and promote their skills and dedication.

The Indian para-athletes have and will inspire the younger generations to choose para-sports as a profession if they are struggling with disabilities. India have a larger pool of talent and there's no doubt that the nation will grow not as an individual but as a team.

Success on the international stage will increase the investment in sports infrastructure and support systems. This will help make new advanced training facilities and improved resources for para-athletes in India.