Two Team Golds and Kanak’s Individual Bronze Propel India to the Top of the Medal Tally
The Indian shooting contingent made an impressive start to their campaign at the ISSF Junior World Championship 2024 in Lima, Peru, securing two team golds and an individual bronze medal on the first day of competition.
With these stellar performances, India surged to the top of the medal tally, showcasing their dominance in the 10m air pistol events.
The International Shooting Sport Federation (ISSF) Junior World Championships, a key event for young shooters globally, brought together over 560 shooters from 51 countries, with 61 Indian athletes among them.
Competing in the Rifle, Pistol, and Shotgun categories, Indian shooters left a significant mark on the first day, setting the stage for what could be another highly successful tournament for India.
Golden Triumph in Team Events
The first gold for India came in the junior men’s 10m air pistol team competition, where the trio of Umesh Choudhary, Pradhyumn Singh, and Mukesh Nelavalli emerged victorious with a combined score of 1726 points.
Their performance placed them 10 points ahead of
second-placed Romania (1716 points), while Italy secured the bronze with 1707 points.
The Indian men’s team showed remarkable consistency and precision, comfortably claiming the gold medal.
Both Umesh and Pradhyumn had strong individual performances in the qualification round, finishing third and fourth, respectively. Umesh shot a score of 580 while Pradhyumn scored 578. Their efforts helped India gain an early foothold in the championship, but despite their high qualification rankings, they narrowly missed out on individual medals in the final.
Umesh finished in sixth place, while Pradhyumn ended in eighth, with Romania’s Luca Joldea claiming the gold and Hsieh Hsiang-Chen of Chinese Taipei taking the silver.
Not to be outdone, the Indian junior women’s 10m air pistol team followed suit with another gold-winning performance.
The team consisted of Kanishka Dagar, Lakshita, and Anjali Chaudhary, who tallied a total of 1708 points, just enough to edge out Azerbaijan, who
finished with 1707 points.
Ukraine secured the bronze with 1704 points, adding to the excitement of a closely fought contest. The Indian women’s team displayed exceptional grit
under pressure, with their one-point margin of victory highlighting their competitive edge.
Kanak’s Bronze: India’s First Individual Medal
Among these standout team performances, it was Kanak, competing in the junior women’s 10m air pistol event, who notched up India’s first individual medal at the championship. Kanak qualified for the final with a score of 573 points, securing the fifth spot.
She shared the same score as her compatriot Kanishka Dagar, but Kanak had fewer inner 10s, placing her behind Kanishka in the qualification rankings.
In the intense final, Kanak showcased her mental strength and shooting skills, scoring 217.6
points to secure the bronze medal. She finished behind Chen Yu-Chun of Chinese Taipei, who
took gold with 239.8 points, and Manja Slak of Slovakia, who claimed silver with 236.6 points.
Kanak’s bronze medal was a crucial breakthrough for India, marking her entry into the elite circle
of junior shooters on the world stage. Kanishka, despite her strong showing in the qualification rounds, finished eighth in the final.
She scored 115.1 points in her first 15 shots and was the first shooter to be eliminated from the final
round.
However, her contribution to the team gold remained invaluable, and her qualification
score of 573-20x was one of the highest in the competition.
Missed Opportunities in Individual Finals
While the team events brought great success, the Indian shooters faced challenges in converting
their strong qualification performances into individual medals.
Both Umesh Choudhary and Pradhyumn Singh, who had qualified for the individual finals in the junior men’s 10m air pistol with third and fourth place finishes respectively, were unable to capitalise on their high rankings.
Umesh finished sixth with a score of 155.0, while Pradhyumn could only manage 115.3 points,
placing him eighth in the final.
Despite these setbacks in the individual finals, the strong showing in the team events ensured that
India stayed in pole position on the medal tally at the end of the first day.
With two golds from the team competitions and one bronze in the individual event, the Indian juniors showcased their strength in the 10m air pistol category.
Looking Ahead
The strong start by the Indian contingent at the ISSF Junior World Championship 2024 has set
high expectations for the days to come.
The competition, which runs until October 6, 2024, will feature a wide array of shooting events, providing ample opportunities for India’s 61-member squad to add to their medal tally.
India has historically done well at the ISSF Junior World Championships.
In the previous edition held in Changwon, South Korea, in 2023, India finished with a total of 17 medals, including six gold, six silver, and five bronze medals.
Several Indian shooters managed to bag more than
one medal, and the 2024 edition promises to be no different, with many of India’s young shooters
expected to make a strong impact.
Written by Ishant
