ISSF Junior World Championships: India wins team title as Shooting Worlds concludes in Peru

India won the team title with a whopping 43-medal haul at the ISSF Junior World Championships at Las Palmas Shooting Range in Lima, Peru.

Vijayveer Sindu, Arjun Singh Cheema, Rhythm Sangwan and Shikha Narwal were India’s gold medallists on the final day. They put India firmly on top of the standings with 17 gold medals. The teams began departing on Sunday.

The ISSF had a difficult time keeping a tab of India’s medal count at the world championships. India was credited with 16 gold, 15 silver and nine bronze medals at the conclusion. But the National Rifle Association of India (NRAI) pointed out mistakes in the count.

The International Shooting Federation quickly ratified the count that credited 17 gold, 16 silver and 10 bronze medals to India.

Vijayveer began the sweep with a gold in the Junior Men’s 25m Standard Pistol. It was his third title at the ISSF Junior World Championships.

His twin brother Udhayveer won silver with 570, the same score as Vijayveer’s but with lesser inner 10s. Harsh Gupta won bronze with a 566 in a field that was 17-strong.

Rhythm Sangwan won her fourth gold at the ISSF Junior World Championship with a victory in the Junior Women’s 25m Standard Pistol. She scored 573, leaving compatriots Niveditha Veloor Nair (565) and Naamya Kapoor (563) behind in silver and bronze positions.

In the 50m Pistol for Junior Men, India’s Arjun Singh Cheema bossed the 16-strong field with 549 out of 600. Compatriots Shaurya Sarin and Ajinkya Chavan also finished with the same score. But they settled for silver and bronze respectively on inner 10s and count back.

In the final event of the ISSF Junior World Championship, India’s Shikha Narwal won the Junior Women’s 50M Pistol with a score of 530. Esha Singh was second with 529 while Navdeep Kaur was third with 526.

India’s performance disclipline wise at ISSF Junior World Championships

In all, the Pistol discipline stole a march over the other two for India, accounting for 26 medals from the 43. The shotgun disclipline had nine medals while Rifle won eight.

Noteworthy performances with the future of Indian Shooting in mind, however, came from all three disciplines at the ISSF Junior World Championships.

Olympians Aishwary Pratap Singh, Tomar and Manu Bhaker reiterated their world-class credentials yet again with dominating performances.

Manu was the most successful Indian shooter. She bagged four gold medals and one bronze medal. Aishwary, on the other hand, smashed the junior world record en route to winning the Junior Men’s 50M Rifle 3 Positions Gold.

In the Shotgun discipline at the ISSF Junior World Championships, Ganemat Sekhon in the Junior Women’s Skeet returned with two credible medals. With one gold and one silver, she further enhanced her reputation as an excellent future prospect.