Aishwary Pratap Singh Tomar sets World Record in revamped 50m rifle 3P at Asian Shooting Championships

Asked whether he felt the pressure while chasing Niraj in the final shots, the 2025 World Championships medallist explained the mental challenge. “If you take the lead, then there is not so much pressure. Because you know that one shot won’t make a difference. But when you are behind, then there is a lot of pressure as you have to shoot well to come on the top.”

India completed a podium sweep in the final Olympic event of the championships, with Akhil Sheoran winning bronze alongside Aishwary and Niraj. The two leaders were clear from the start of the eight-shooter final. While Aishwary led after the prone section, Niraj held the advantage in the standing section before Aishwary’s dramatic overtake on the final shot.

Confidence from worlds

Last year, Aishwary claimed arguably his biggest senior career medal. The 25-year-old from Bhopal won silver in the 50m rifle three positions event at the World Championships, finishing second to Olympic and World champion Liu Yukun of China. In that final, however, the situation was reversed. Aishwary was leading before the final shot, but a poor 9.8 allowed Yukun to snatch the world title.

“Yeah, I felt bad about that last shot. It was difficult to accept that I was within touching distance of becoming a World Champion. But I think losing that gold medal works as a motivation for me to go harder at this World Championships,” said Aishwary.

Despite the disappointment, the silver medal boosted his confidence significantly. “Any medal at a World Championship is good for confidence. The competition at the Worlds is quite high, as good as the Olympics. I had never medalled at Worlds before this. The medal gave me a lot of confidence and command going forward in the season,” he said.

With his current form, the 25-year-old is confident of claiming the medal that eluded him last year. “If I continue shooting like I did today, I believe that I have a good chance to secure the gold medal at the World Championships this year.”

Working on fitness

The Asian Games and World Championships are Aishwary’s two prime targets for the 2026 season. “We don’t have the option of taking either of the tournaments lightly. Both are flagship competitions and I have my eyes set on the podium,” he said. While he will be chasing gold at the World Championships, Aishwary doesn’t have an individual medal at the Asian Games and will look to open his account at this year’s edition.

To achieve these targets, Aishwary has been focusing on fitness since the 2024 Paris Olympics. “Fitness is something I have been working on since the Paris Olympics. I have been focusing on strength and conditioning along with cardio. It has helped me and I will continue with my current fitness regime,” he said.

On Thursday, Aishwary finished third in the qualification stage with Niraj taking the top spot and Rudrankksh Patil, who was competing for ranking points, taking second. While he was brilliant in kneeling and prone with 199 points each, he slumped in standing with 190 points, usually one of his stronger areas.

However, he is not overly concerned about the low score in standing. “Yeah, standing is one of my stronger areas but I am not worried about it much. As you can see, I did well in the finals in standing. I think I didn’t get the proper rhythm during the qualification which can happen on some days. Nothing to worry about,” Aishwary concluded with a smile.