Opening ceremony of 2025 ISSF World Championship Shotgun highlights support of top Greek sport officials

The 2025 ISSF World Championship Shotgun commenced with a stirring opening ceremony yesterday at the magnificent Malakasa Shooting Range near Athens, Greece.

ISSF President Luciano Rossi delivered his address welcoming athletes, officials, and distinguished guests to the prestigious event and stated: “It is great that Greece is hosting the ISSF World Championships for the first, but certainly not the last time!”

Among the honoured guests present at the ceremony was a “who’s who” of top officials representing Greek sport including Yiannis Vroutsis, Deputy Minister of Education, Religious Affairs and Sports (representing Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis); Georgios Mavrotas, General Secretary of Sports; Isidoros Kouvelos, President of the Hellenic Olympic Committee; Spyros Capralos, President of the European Olympic Committees and IOC Member, Athanasios Papageorgiou, President of the Hellenic Shooting Federation and Ioannis Kilakos, President of the Malakasa Shooting Centre.

Their attendance and engagement underscored Greece’s enduring legacy as the birthplace of the Olympic Games and its ongoing commitment to upholding Olympic values in the modern era.

In his speech, the ISSF President expressed immense pride in welcoming 406 athletes from 68 Member Federations and emphasised that the spirit of the Olympics lives on in each athlete present, uniting competitors from around the world as we begin the long road to the next edition of the Olympic Games in Los Angeles, in 2028.

Present at the ceremony was LA28’s recently-appointed Sport Manager for Shooting, Will Anti, who spoke at the Technical Meeting about the status of planning for shooting at the Games, as well as his desire to work closely with the ISSF to present shooting sport in the most exciting and engaging way possible at the next Olympics.

Watched by athletes from the Greek team, President Rossi acknowledged the incredible efforts made by Greece to promote shooting sport, highlighting how all athletes he had spoken to had been surprised and impressed by the outstanding facilities available to them at the refurbished Malakasa Shooting Centre.

“The welcome, facilities and support have been outstanding so let us now look forward to some world class competition.”