On Wednesday night the Australian Team finished competition at the Novi Sad 2026 World Shooting Para Sport World Cup in Serbia. This World Cup, the first International WSPS competition of 2026, saw record attendance, hosting 291 athletes from 51 National Paralympic Committees across nine days of intense international competition.
Australia was represented at this World Cup by three rifle athletes, including Scottie Brydon, Natalie Smith and Anton Zappelli. The athletes were also accompanied and supported by Shooting Australia’s Precision Program Manager and Para Technical Lead, Catherine Berry, Para Development Coach, Elise Collier and Team Physio, Dan Mahoney.
As final preparation ahead of the World Cup, the Australian Team travelled to Germany for a pre-event training camp at the Bad Orb Shooting Club. The team was joined by Precision Senior Performance Coach, Petr Kurka and spent 5 days preparing, practicing and testing ammunition before travelling to Serbia.
Natalie Smith kicked off competition for the Australian Team at the Novi Sad World Cup, competing in the R2 – 10m Air Rifle Standing Women’s event and the R8 – 50m Rifle 3 Positions Women’s event.
In the R2 competition Smith fell just short of the finals, shooting a score of 613.1. However, she bounced back in the R8 competition, securing a finals appearance with a qualification score of 574 to finish 6th overall in a field of 17 athletes. In a highly competitive finals field that included a world record performance, Smith finished in 5th place overall.
Scottie Brydon and Anton Zappelli kicked off their World Cup appearances, competing in the R3 – 10m Air Rifle Prone Open competition. Out of 61 athletes competing, Brydon finished qualification in 31st overall with a score of 627.2, whilst Zappelli delivered a score of 633.3 to finish in 12th place and just 0.6 points shy of a finals appearance.
Brydon, Smith and Zappelli all represented Australia in the R6 – 50m Rifle Prone Open SH1 competition, the final event of the Novi Sad World Cup. The three Aussies started off strong, each ranking within the top 25 athletes in the competition and progressing from the elimination relay to the qualification stage.
Brydon and Smith fell short of qualifying for the R6 final, shooting scores of 610.7 and 616.3 respectively. Anton Zappelli shot a score of 618.2 to qualify 7th overall to the final, where he eventually finished in 7th.
This World Cup offered our Australian athletes an opportunity to gain valuable international experience and exposure to the pressures of competing on the world stage. With The Novi Sad World Cup now finished, our Aussie athletes now turn their focus to the WSPS World Championships, which will be held in Changwon, Korea in September, marking the first open market quota opportunity for the 2028 LA Paralympics.
