Host India Leads the Way at ISSF Junior World Cup with 23 Medals

India’s young shooters lit up the ISSF Junior World Cup on Tuesday, clinching a thrilling 10m air rifle mixed team gold and silver, while Vinay Pratap Chandrawat added a bronze in the men’s trap event. With an impressive haul of 23 medals—seven gold, nine silver, and seven bronze—India solidified its position as the top-performing nation on the penultimate day of the competition.

In a nail-biting air rifle mixed team final, Isha Anil Taksale and Himanshu mounted a stunning comeback to defeat compatriots Shambhavi Kshirsagar and Naraen Pranav 17-15, overcoming a 9-15 deficit. The match showcased exceptional marksmanship, with Shambhavi nailing two perfect 10.9s and Isha contributing one. Remarkably, only five of the 64 shots fired dipped below 10, highlighting the precision of both Indian pairs.

The bronze went to Individual Neutral Athletes (AIN) Varvara Kardakova and Kamil Nuriakhmetov, who outshot their compatriots Mariia Kruglova and Timofei Aleinikov 17-9. 

In the men’s trap junior final, Croatia’s 20-year-old Toni Gudelj stole the show, hitting 44 targets to claim his country’s first gold. Spain’s Isaac Hernandez, who led qualifications with a score of 120+6, took silver with 41 hits. India’s Vinay Pratap Chandrawat secured bronze with 34 hits, while teammate Arjun finished just off the podium in fourth with 29.

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The women’s trap junior event saw the Czech Republic’s Lea Kucerova dominate with 41 hits, earning her nation’s first medal of the competition. Italy’s Sofia Gori claimed silver with 37, and AIN’s Kseniia Samofalova took bronze with 30. India’s Sabeera Haris narrowly missed the final, finishing seventh after tying at 112 hits in a tense qualification shoot-off against Kucerova and USA’s Lucy Myers.

In the women’s 25m pistol precision stage, India’s Tejaswani led with a score of 288, edging out Italy’s Alessandra Fait (287) and AIN’s Viktoriia Kholodnaia (286). Teammates Naamya Kapoor (284) and Riya Shirish Thatte (281) placed fourth and sixth, respectively, setting the stage for Wednesday’s rapid-fire stage, where the top six will compete for medals.

In the non-Olympic men’s 25m pistol event, India’s Raghav Verma topped the precision stage with 290, followed closely by teammate Mukesh Nelavalli (289) and AIN’s Georgii Tarasov (285). The final medalists will be determined after Wednesday’s rapid-fire stage.

India’s dominant performance at the ISSF Junior World Cup underscores the nation’s growing prowess in shooting sports, with its young talents poised to shine even brighter as the competition concludes.

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