"VAN" (Sports Desk - 13.11.2025) :: The shortlists for the ISSF Athlete of the Year People's Choice Awards have been confirmed, with fans able to vote for their favourite five male and female athletes in the next stage of voting - open now until 20 November.
Winners of these categories will be announced alongside the six ISSF Athlete of the Year categories for men's and women's rifle, pistol and shotgun at the 2025 ISSF World Cup Final in Doha, Qatar, during the Opening Ceremony on 5 December.
Lada Denisova (AIN)
A breakthrough season for the 22-year-old, Lada Denisova became a gold medallist at the ISSF World Cup for the first time when she beat the field in Nicosia after placing ninth in Buenos Aires earlier in the season. In the fourth leg, Lonato took the bronze medal.
She also just missed out on the final at the European Championships and placed 22nd at the ISSF World Championship in the women's trap.
Jeanette Hegg Duestad (Norway)
One of the best athletes this season, Jeanette Hegg Duestad headed into the ISSF World Championship with two victories in the 50m rifle 3 positions event and two, along with Jon-Hermann Hegg, in the mixed team 10m air rifle.
Silvers in the 10m air rifle and 50m rifle 3 positions as well as a mixed team bronze were added to her cabinet this year before going to Cairo. Even when she missed the medals - she was never far away. She was fourth in the 10m distance in both Lima and Munich. These were her lowest finishes on the World Cup circuit in 2025.
At the European Championships, she won her second individual title when she stood top of the podium in the women's 300m rifle 3 positions event. She also added a silver in the 50m distance and claimed bronze in the mixed team 10m air rifle event. She also made the final of the 10m air rifle too, placing seventh.
Rikke Ibsen (Denmark)
Jeanette Hegg Duestad was denied the European title in the women's 50m rifle 3 positions event thanks to her Nordic rival, Rikke Ibsen, who claimed gold in a dramatic conclusion.
The Dane added a silver medal on the ISSF World Cup, her second-best result of her career, when she got down to the final two with Duestad in Ningbo, but on this occasion, lost to her in another exciting final.
Konstantia Nikolaou (Cyprus)
The world number eight in the women's skeet, Konstantia Nikolaou matched her best-ever result at the ISSF World Championship when she finished fifth in the final this year in Athens. A very strong performance captured the hearts of the crowd in Athens, who hoped to see the athlete from the neighbouring Mediterranean island nation come away with a medal.
On home soil, Nikolaou recorded her best ISSF World Cup result in two years, finishing eighth and just missing the final in Nicosia.
Brenda Rodrigues (Brazil)
Success is relative, and for Brenda Rodrigues and fans in Brazil, it has been the 27-year-old's best season to date. In the opening leg of the season in Buenos Aires, the Brazilian recorded her best result so far in her career, narrowly missing out on the final in the women's 25m pistol, placing 14th.
While in the neighbouring country, she was also 34th in the women's 10m air pistol - her third-best World Cup result so far.
Men's Shortlist
Atallah Nidaa K Alanazi (Saudi Arabia)
Ranked 33rd in the world in the men's 10m air pistol, Atallah Nidaa K Alanazi is the best-ranked athlete from his nation in ISSF Olympic events, being the leading figure for other shooting sport athletes in his country.
Alanazi has had five top 10 ISSF World Cup finishes during his career and was close to adding a sixth in Ningbo, where he finished 12th. In one of Asia's best events, he was 27th at the Asian Championships.
Jean Pierre Brol (Guatemala)
A year on from winning Olympic bronze, Jean Pierre Brol continues to do Guatemala proud. In a high-quality field, Brol finished 23rd in the men's trap at the 2025 ISSF World Championship - but it was his heroics on the ISSF World Cup circuit that stood out.
He would win the men's trap final in Buenos Aires for his first ISSF World Cup gold and would add his first silver later that month in the mixed team trap event with Olympic champion Adriana Ruano. Elsewhere, results have been solid. He finished seventh in the mixed team trap in Buenos Aires and finished 16th and 25th individually in Lonato and Lima respectively.
Manuel Murcia (Spain)
Sometimes victory comes when you least expect it.
When Manuel Murcia qualified for the men's trap final in Nicosia, it was his first on the ISSF World Cup circuit and his first in all competitions since 1998.
One of his opponent's Czechia's Jan Palacky was not even born then, but that year was fantastic for the Spanish athlete. He was a finalist at the World Junior and European Junior Championships, taking a bronze at the world competition in Barcelona.
Against the odds, Murcia shot well in the final as he watched his opponents drop by the wayside. His victory is one of the biggest surprises in recent years and is a sign to never give up.
Rudrankksh Patil (India)
In Buenos Aires, Rudrankksh Patil started the season with his second ISSF World Cup gold, beating a strong field in the men's 10m air rifle final. He would go on to take the silver medal in the mixed team event too in both South American legs, alongside Arya Borse.
His time in Lima still showed great consistency, with the 21-year-old making the individual final too, finishing eighth. Patil would just miss the medals at the Asian Championships in Shymkent when he finished fourth in the men's 10m air rifle and took mixed team bronze.
At the ISSF World Championship, he was close to making the final, finishing 13th.
Zoravar Singh Sandhu (India)
The bronze medal that went the way of Zoravar Singh Sandhu may have been a surprise result, but for those who have watched his season, they would have forecast this being a possibility.
Sandhu's best ISSF World Championship result was in 1998 in Barcelona when he finished 15th in the men's trap. His last ISSF competition final was in 2017, when he finished fourth at the ISSF World Cup in New Delhi and his only individual medal came back in 2007 when he took bronze at the ISSF World Cup in Changwon.
People will remember his fantastic performance at the ISSF World Championship in Athens when he finished third - one of the most memorable results in Greece. But if you look closer, you can see signs of consistency. He placed eighth in Buenos Aires - his fourth-best result of his long career. That would be followed by 20th in Lima and then ninth in Lonato.
Responses
Leave your comment