Novi Sad welcomes its first Shooting Para Sport World Cup

Dragan Ristic is among Serbia's leading shooting para sport athletes.

Novi Sad has begun classification for its first Shooting Para Sport World Cup. Competition starts after two days of athlete checks and equipment preparation. Serbia will field eleven athletes at the home event.

The entry includes 292 competitors from 51 nations. Fifty-two athletes have already won Paralympic medals. Dragan Ristić leads the Serbian interest after three gold medals across the last two Games.

Classification comes before the first shot

Athletes with physical impairments complete international classification before competition. The process groups competitors according to functional ability. It protects fair comparison across each event category.

Novi Sad scheduled classification across two days. Equipment control and official training also take place before medal events. These stages are part of competition integrity, not public preliminaries.

The opening days therefore involve important work without final scores. Athletes learn the range and confirm their equipment. Officials check eligibility before the first competition session.

The event is Serbia's largest international shooting Para sport meeting since the European championships in Belgrade. Novi Sad has hosted Grand Prix events before. A World Cup brings a larger field and broader programme.

Two venues divide the programme

Ten-metre events will be held inside the Master Centre hall. The Novi Sad shooting range will host the longer twenty-five and fifty-metre events. Each venue creates different technical and logistical demands.

Novi Sad is hosting its first Shooting Para Sport World Cup.

The Master Centre hosts the ten-metre air events. Novi Sad's outdoor range stages the twenty-five and fifty-metre disciplines. The two venues divide the World Cup programme by distance and equipment.

Team events and vision-impaired events also appear on the schedule. They form part of the world championship programme. Some are not included at the Paralympic Games.

Ristić brings the strongest home record

Dragan Ristić won the mixed fifty-metre prone title at consecutive Paralympic Games. He also earned another gold in the mixed ten-metre prone event in Paris. That record makes him Serbia's leading name in Novi Sad.

Ristić has already won Grand Prix titles in Novi Sad. He returns as a three-time Paralympic champion. His record includes two victories in Paris and another from Tokyo.

The Serbian team contains ten other athletes around him. Their events and classifications differ across the programme. Home support will follow the full delegation rather than one competitor only.

Ristić leads an eleven-athlete Serbian team. The field also contains fifty-two previous Paralympic medallists. Qualification scores will decide the finalists in each event.

Ristić won the mixed fifty-metre prone title at two consecutive Paralympic Games. Paris also brought him gold in the mixed ten-metre prone event. Those three victories make him the most decorated member of Serbia's Novi Sad team.

The field carries major international depth

China brings the largest delegation with twenty-one athletes. Kazakhstan follows with seventeen. The full entry covers fifty-one national teams.

Several leading Paralympians will compete in Serbia. Chao Yang won three medals in Paris. Manish Narwal, Natascha Hiltrop and Sareh Javanmardi also arrive with major titles.

Ristic represents Serbia in international rifle competition.

That depth gives Serbian athletes a strong test before the world championships. Direct competition reveals current form more clearly than training alone. It also offers experience against different shooting rhythms.

The World Cup includes opportunities to record minimum qualification scores for later championships. Those results are measured alongside the medal events. Novi Sad is the last major international stop before September's world championships.

China brings the largest delegation with twenty-one athletes, followed by Kazakhstan with seventeen. The entry also includes champions such as Chao Yang, Manish Narwal, Natascha Hiltrop and Sareh Javanmardi.

Medal events follow classification

The Novi Sad programme runs through the final week of July. The world championships follow in Changwon during September. Several athletes will compete at both events.

Competition follows two days of classification, equipment control and official training. Medal events then run across both Novi Sad venues. The programme ends during the final week of July.

Serbia hosts a large global field while entering its own eleven-athlete team. The combination gives local competitors rare access to top opposition without long travel. Supporters can also watch Paralympic champions at close range.

Classification and equipment control open the Novi Sad programme. Official training follows before the first medal events. Serbia's eleven-athlete team then joins a field from fifty-one nations.