Novi Sad 2026: World records tumble as Paralympic stars launch new season

The first World Cup of the season lived up to expectations as world records fell and several emerging names impressed alongside established Paralympic stars in Novi Sad, Serbia.

A total of 291 athletes (191 men and 100 women) from 51 nations competed at the Novi Sad 2026 World Cup, which offered vision impaired (VI), rifle and pistol shooters an important opportunity to test themselves ahead of the World Championships.

Results from the Novi Sad 2026 World Cup can be found here.

World records galore

While Paralympic stars returned to action in spectacular fashion, several athletes also produced memorable performances in Novi Sad.

2019 world champion Anna Benson showed precision and determination to claim the first gold medal of the season in the R8 - 50m rifle 3 positions women SH1. Despite shooting two 9.8s in her final three shots, she recovered with a 10.5 on her last attempt to secure gold with 356 points and set a new world record*.

Poland’s Emilia Babska finished second with 354.5. Paris 2024 and Tokyo 2020 Paralympic champions Germany’s Natascha Hiltrop and China’s Cuiping Zhang finished third and fourth, respectively.

Benson also claimed silver in the R2 - 10m air rifle standing women SH1 final, which was won by Ukraine’s Tokyo 2020 bronze medallist Iryna Saltykova. The 2023 European champion impressed in the final series, shooting 10.6 and 10.5 to secure gold with 250.8 points.

“I’m feeling great. It was the first time with this final. It was fun, a little different from what we are used to, and I am happy that it was gold today,” said Benson.

India's Mona Agarwal, the Paris 2024 bronze medallist, took bronze with 228.2.

The men’s rifle three positions event also delivered record-breaking action.

Hungary’s 22-year-old Csaba Rescsik produced a display of precision and focus, shooting five consecutive scores of 10 or higher – including back-to-back 10.7s – to set a new world record* of 353.8 on his way to gold in the R7 - 50m rifle 3 positions men SH1 final.

In doing so, he finished ahead of Paris 2024 medallists France’s Jean-Louis Michaud and China’s most decorated shooter Dong Chao, who claimed silver and bronze, respectively.

Back at her very best for 🥇

Iryna Saltykova gets the R2 10m Standing SH1 victory in Novi Sad#ShootingParaSport pic.twitter.com/UoBcHEK6Cm

— Shooting Para Sport (@ShootingPara) July 24, 2026

Team efforts

Alongside the individual records, the team events also produced several standout performances.

Five-time Paralympic champion Veronika Vadovicova and Radoslav Malenovsky partnered to set a world record of 507.6 as Slovakia claimed gold in the R10 – mixed team 10m air rifle prone SH1. China – represented by Paralympic icons Cuiping Zhang and Dong Chao – took silver with 506.0.

“It felt amazing. It was the first time with the format of the finals. We didn’t know how the system would work, but we found out quickly. It worked well and we got the gold. The qualification was great, but the final could have been better. The quality of the ranges looks nice,” said Radoslav, who also claimed R1 silver in the opening final of the World Cup, which was won by Ukraine's Andrii Doroshenko with 248.8.

Four-time Paralympic champion Sareh Javanmardi and Ali Galavi combined to shoot a world record* score of 465 and as the Iranian defeated the Indian pair of Rubina Francis and Manish Narwal (460.6) in the P6 - mixed team 10m air pistol final.

Italy also celebrated gold and a world record* through Pamela Novaglio and Gianluca Iacus, who scored 552.2 to win the R11 - mixed team 10m air rifle prone SH2 final.

Another Italian pair, Livia Cecagallina and Pierpaolo Simeoni, who set a qualification world record* of 635.3, finished second.

It’s an Italian 1-2 in the R11 Mixed Team SH2! 🇮🇹

The pair of Pamela Novaglio and Gianluca Iacus claim gold with 552.2, with Livia Cecagallina and Pierpaolo Simeoni in silver. Marina Abdullina and Aleksandr Logutenko complete the top three.#ShootingParaSport pic.twitter.com/qP3NgcMG9t

— Shooting Para Sport (@ShootingPara) July 25, 2026

Home star delivers

Hosts Serbia also celebrated success through home favourite and reigning Paralympic champion Dragan Ristic as he won the R9 - 50m rifle prone SH2 final with a score of 249.

Vadovicova also won her first individual gold medal this season by claiming the R3 - 10m air rifle prone open SH1 with 255.5. Also a world champion, she holds the world record in the category at 255.7.

Korea's Seo Huntae, the Paris 2024 bronze medallist, claimed Korea’s only gold medal with a score of 252.9 in the R4 - 10m air rifle standing SH2 final. France's Maxence Dupont followed closely with 252.2, while Serbia’s Dejan Jokic took third with 230.2.

London 2012 and Rio 2016 Paralympic champion in the R4, Vasyl Kovalchuk, added to Ukraine’s gold medal tally by winning the R5 - 10m air rifle prone open SH2 final with 255.2.

An incredible final in the P1! 🤯

And we've got the P2 coming up to conclude the action for this week. Watch it live: https://t.co/43s58Wij3G#ShootingParaSport pic.twitter.com/cJM2nH9lp1

— Shooting Para Sport (@ShootingPara) July 29, 2026

New stars emerge

Turkiye's Muharrem Korhan Yamac relied on his consistency to win the P3 - 25m pistol open SH1 final with 31, finishing ahead of Paralympic champions from China Yang Chao and Huang Xing.

Huang claimed silver with 22, while India’s youngster Nihal Singh completed the podium with 18. Yang finished with 14.

Indian star Manish Narwal had to settle for silver with 235.7 in the P1 - 10m air pistol men SH1 final after back-to-back nines in the penultimate series disrupted his challenge. Kazakhstan's Alexandr Paskhalidi, meanwhile, was rewarded for his consistency, particularly across his final three series, as he finished with 236.2 points to top the podium.

The P2 - 10m air pistol women SH1 final also produced a surprise result.

Uzbekistan's Shakhnoza Mamajonova overcame reigning Paralympic gold and silver medallists Javanmardi and Türkiye's Aysel Ozgan with a winning score of 232.6.

Ozgan, who led the field after the penultimate series, faltered with an 8.6 in the final series to finish narrowly behind on 231.5. Javanmardi, who is preparing for her first World Championships in seven years, will nevertheless return home with team gold and an individual bronze medal.

In another thrilling contest, two-time world champion Emilia Babska finished just 0.2 points ahead of Great Britain's Matt Skelhon, who scored 247.1, to win the R6 - 50m rifle prone open SH1 final. Saltykova claimed bronze with 225.8.

Azerbaijan's Kamran Zeynalov produced a surprise victory in the P4 - 50m pistol open SH1 final, scoring 222.0 to finish ahead of Korea’s world champion Jo Jeongdu on 221 and China’s reigning Paralympic champion Yang Chao on 200.4.

*Records to be ratified by World Shooting Para Sport