Changwon is preparing to host the first WSPS World Championships in three years, and from 10 to 15 September the spotlight will turn to some of the world’s leading pistol athletes at the Changwon International Shooting Range.
Five individual pistol medals will be contested at this year’s Worlds, with more than 100 athletes competing across:
P1 – men’s 10m air pistol SH1
P2 - women’s 10m air pistol SH1
P3 - mixed 25m pistol SH1
P4 - mixed 50m pistol SH1
P5 - mixed 10m air pistol standard SH1.
The Changwon 2026 World Championships will be streamed live on the ISSF YouTube channel. The programme opens with the P3 on the first day of competition.
Here are some of the pistol stars to follow in Changwon:
Aysel Ozgan (Turkiye)
The back-to-back P2 world champion, Ozgan is also the world record holder in the event thanks to her score of 240 at the Chateauroux 2022 WSPS World Cup. The Turkish athlete claimed her first Paralympic podium at Paris 2024 with P2 silver, after narrowly missing out at four consecutive Games since her Beijing 2008 debut.
Ozgan made her World Championships debut back in Zagreb 2010 and earned her first medal in the P6 mixed team event at Sydney 2019. Her first individual Worlds medal came in Al Ain 2022 with P2 gold, where she also helped Turkiye secure P6 team silver. She added a European title in the event at Granada 2024.
Changwon 2026 events: P2 and P4.
Jeongdu Jo (South Korea)
Korea’s pistol star has been a dominant force in P1 since winning gold at his WSPS World Championships debut in Al Ain 2022. He followed it with a P4 bronze at the Lima 2023 Worlds, then captured P1 gold at his first Paralympic Games at Paris 2024.
Jo holds the P1 qualification world record with 528, set at the 2023 Changwon World Cup – on the same range where he will attempt to reclaim the world title.
Changwon 2026 events: P1 and P4.
Manish Narwal (India)
India’s top pistol shooter arrives in Changwon to defend his P1 world title in what promises to be one of the marquee events of the World Championships. To retain the crown, he will face strong opposition, including home favourite and Paralympic champion Jeongdu Jo, who edged him for silver at Paris 2024.
Narwal is also the Tokyo 2020 Paralympic champion in P4 and owns two bronze medals (P1 and P4) from the Sydney 2019 Worlds. He enters Changwon as the P1 world ranking leader.
Changwon 2026 events: P1 and P4.
Sareh Javanmardi (Iran)
The most successful Paralympic pistol athlete of all time returns to the World Championships for the first time in seven years. A four time Paralympic champion and five time medallist, Javanmardi has won three P2 golds (Rio 2016, Tokyo 2020, Paris 2024) and one P4 gold (Rio 2016).
She claimed her first Worlds title in Suhl 2014 (P2) and added P2 silver at Sydney 2019 before taking time away from competition to give birth to her son, Avash. The current P2 world ranking leader, she also holds the qualification records in P2 (580) and P4 (556) – the latter set in Changwon at the 2024 World Cup.
Changwon 2026 events: P2 and P4.
Yan Xiao Gong (USA)
A Los Angeles Film School graduate, Gong left Hollywood for Colorado Springs to pursue the dream of representing the United States in shooting. At his third World Championships in 2023, he returned from Lima as the P3 world champion and P1 bronze medallist, establishing himself as a consistent medal contender.
In 2024, Gong won Paralympic silver in P3 at Paris, marking the first USA pistol medal since West Brownlow the 1984 Paralympics in Stoke Mandeville.
Changwon 2026 events: P1, P3 and P4.
Yang Chao (China)
The most decorated active male athlete in shooting Para sport, Chao owns six Paralympic medals, including four golds. He arrives in Changwon as the world ranking leader and the Paris 2024 champion in both P3 and P4, along with a P1 bronze.
Chao has strong memories of Korea: he made his Worlds debut at Cheongju 2018, winning P1 gold and P4 bronze. His P1 world record (241.8) was set at the Changwon International Shooting Range during the 2023 World Cup. He also has two Paralympic P1 titles (Rio 2016, Tokyo 2020) and P4 silver from the Sydney 2019 Worlds.
Changwon 2026 events: P1, P3 and P4.
Five individual pistol medals will be contested at this year’s Worlds, with more than 100 athletes competing across:
P1 – men’s 10m air pistol SH1
P2 - women’s 10m air pistol SH1
P3 - mixed 25m pistol SH1
P4 - mixed 50m pistol SH1
P5 - mixed 10m air pistol standard SH1.
The Changwon 2026 World Championships will be streamed live on the ISSF YouTube channel. The programme opens with the P3 on the first day of competition.
Here are some of the pistol stars to follow in Changwon:
Aysel Ozgan (Turkiye)
The back-to-back P2 world champion, Ozgan is also the world record holder in the event thanks to her score of 240 at the Chateauroux 2022 WSPS World Cup. The Turkish athlete claimed her first Paralympic podium at Paris 2024 with P2 silver, after narrowly missing out at four consecutive Games since her Beijing 2008 debut.
Ozgan made her World Championships debut back in Zagreb 2010 and earned her first medal in the P6 mixed team event at Sydney 2019. Her first individual Worlds medal came in Al Ain 2022 with P2 gold, where she also helped Turkiye secure P6 team silver. She added a European title in the event at Granada 2024.
Changwon 2026 events: P2 and P4.
Jeongdu Jo (South Korea)
Korea’s pistol star has been a dominant force in P1 since winning gold at his WSPS World Championships debut in Al Ain 2022. He followed it with a P4 bronze at the Lima 2023 Worlds, then captured P1 gold at his first Paralympic Games at Paris 2024.
Jo holds the P1 qualification world record with 528, set at the 2023 Changwon World Cup – on the same range where he will attempt to reclaim the world title.
Changwon 2026 events: P1 and P4.
Manish Narwal (India)
India’s top pistol shooter arrives in Changwon to defend his P1 world title in what promises to be one of the marquee events of the World Championships. To retain the crown, he will face strong opposition, including home favourite and Paralympic champion Jeongdu Jo, who edged him for silver at Paris 2024.
Narwal is also the Tokyo 2020 Paralympic champion in P4 and owns two bronze medals (P1 and P4) from the Sydney 2019 Worlds. He enters Changwon as the P1 world ranking leader.
Changwon 2026 events: P1 and P4.
Sareh Javanmardi (Iran)
The most successful Paralympic pistol athlete of all time returns to the World Championships for the first time in seven years. A four time Paralympic champion and five time medallist, Javanmardi has won three P2 golds (Rio 2016, Tokyo 2020, Paris 2024) and one P4 gold (Rio 2016).
She claimed her first Worlds title in Suhl 2014 (P2) and added P2 silver at Sydney 2019 before taking time away from competition to give birth to her son, Avash. The current P2 world ranking leader, she also holds the qualification records in P2 (580) and P4 (556) – the latter set in Changwon at the 2024 World Cup.
Changwon 2026 events: P2 and P4.
Yan Xiao Gong (USA)
A Los Angeles Film School graduate, Gong left Hollywood for Colorado Springs to pursue the dream of representing the United States in shooting. At his third World Championships in 2023, he returned from Lima as the P3 world champion and P1 bronze medallist, establishing himself as a consistent medal contender.
In 2024, Gong won Paralympic silver in P3 at Paris, marking the first USA pistol medal since West Brownlow the 1984 Paralympics in Stoke Mandeville.
Changwon 2026 events: P1, P3 and P4.
Yang Chao (China)
The most decorated active male athlete in shooting Para sport, Chao owns six Paralympic medals, including four golds. He arrives in Changwon as the world ranking leader and the Paris 2024 champion in both P3 and P4, along with a P1 bronze.
Chao has strong memories of Korea: he made his Worlds debut at Cheongju 2018, winning P1 gold and P4 bronze. His P1 world record (241.8) was set at the Changwon International Shooting Range during the 2023 World Cup. He also has two Paralympic P1 titles (Rio 2016, Tokyo 2020) and P4 silver from the Sydney 2019 Worlds.
Changwon 2026 events: P1, P3 and P4.