Olympian Raiza Dhillon composed effort delivers India’s first shotgun medal of the competition in challenging weather
Raiza Dhillon, a Tokyo Olympian and national skeet record holder, clinched a commendable silver medal in the women’s skeet event at the ISSF Junior World Cup in Suhl, Germany, on Thursday, marking her first individual ISSF World Cup medal at any level.
Raiza shot 51 out of 60 targets in the final to finish second behind Phoebe Bodley-Scott of Great Britain, who emerged victorious with a score of 53. Germany’s Annabella Hettmer, the 2022 Junior World Cup champion, took home the bronze.
Final Under Pressure: Cold Winds and Tough Rivals
The conditions at the Suhl range were far from ideal. A cold, blustery day added to the challenge for the competitors.
Raiza started the day in fourth position with a qualification score of 71 after three rounds. She followed it up with solid rounds of 22 and 23 to end the qualification at 116/125, tied with Phoebe and Hettmer. The trio entered a 24-shot shoot-off to decide final placements, with Raiza holding her nerve to qualify in second place.
Once in the final, she started strong, hitting four clean targets on Station 3 and missing just one of her first ten shots. As the wind picked up and errors crept into the field, Raiza held her rhythm. She eliminated strong names one by one — Lidiya Basharova (Kazakhstan), Madeleine Russell (Great Britain), and Arianna Nember (Italy) — to confirm a podium finish.
With a gold still within reach, she hit 19 out of the last 20 targets, but Phoebe’s early three-point lead proved crucial. Raiza closed the gap but had to settle for silver — a significant achievement in a high-quality field.
“A Medal I Knew Was Coming”
Speaking after her final, Raiza reflected on the technical changes she made post-Olympics and how they’ve started to yield results.
She also confirmed her focus is now on the upcoming World Cup in Lonato, Italy.
A Medal of Significance
Raiza’s medal is India’s first in shotgun events at the Suhl Junior World Cup, and the third overall for the contingent so far. It follows Kanak’s gold in women’s air pistol and another silver earlier in the week. The medal is also a strong statement in her final year as a junior shooter, as she overcame a field that included not just the reigning junior world champion but also the junior European champion.
Other Indian Performances on the Day
In the women’s skeet event:
- Vanshika Tiwari shot 109 to finish 15th
- Yashasvi Rathore posted 106 (19th)
- Mohika Sisidiya finished 28th with 100
In the men’s skeet qualifiers:
- Harmehar Lally was impressive with 117/125, narrowly missing the final in 7th place
- Zoravar Singh Bedi shot 112 (29th)
- Ishaan Singh Libra scored 111 (35th)
- Jyotiraditya Sisodiya logged 110 (38th)
- Atul Singh Rajawat ended at 105 (54th)
In the 10m Air Pistol Mixed Team:
- Urva Chaudhary and Chirag Sharma shot 576 (14x) to finish 5th, just one inner-10 short of the medal match
- Pushpender Singh and Sanskriti Bana scored 560 to place 21st
In the 50m Rifle 3 Positions, top Indian scores included:
- Adriyan Karmakar: 589
- Vedant Nitin Waghmare: 587
- Manvendra Singh Shekhawat: 577
- Harshvardhan Singh Naruka: 572
- Rohit Kanyan: 560 (eliminated)
What’s Next?
India will look to build on this momentum with key finals coming up in the 50m Rifle 3 Positions and 25m Rapid Fire Pistol on Friday. For Raiza Dhillon, the spotlight now shifts to senior-level events, but this medal is a milestone that underlines her resilience and ability to deliver on big stages.
India’s Medal Tally at ISSF Junior World Cup Suhl (so far):
- 🥇 Gold: Women’s Air Pistol
- 🥈 Silver: Women’s Skeet
- 🥈 Silver: Men 50m Rifle Prone
Stay tuned for more updates from Suhl as Indian shooters aim for the podium in the closing stages of the competition.
