India Bags Silver And Bronze In 10M Air Rifle At ISSF Junior World Cup

Last Updated:May 25, 2025, 17:52 is

India won silver and bronze in the 10M air rifle mixed team event at the ISSF Junior World Cup.

India secured a silver and bronze medal in the 10M air rifle mixed team event at the ISSF Junior World Cup in Suhl, Germany, on Sunday.

This achievement marked India’s second double podium finish in the tournament within two days.

Naraen Pranav and Khyaty Chaudhary won the silver, while Himanshu and Shambhavi Kshirsagar took home the bronze. With this, India’s medal tally reached double figures, consisting of two gold, four silver, and four bronze medals, with two more finals scheduled for the final day on Monday.

Khyaty and Naraen shot 631.0 in the 38-team qualifying round, finishing second and securing a chance to compete for gold against the formidable Chinese duo, Huang Yuting (Olympic champion in the event, double Olympic medalist, and senior air rifle world champion) and Huang Liwanlin (the junior air rifle world champion), who led the field with a score of 632.6.

In the final, the Indians fought bravely, equalizing every time the Chinese team attempted to pull ahead. They remained neck-and-neck through 14 series of single shots, entering the 15th series tied at 14 points each. The Chinese team eventually won the 15th series by 0.5 points, reaching 16 points first to claim the gold.

Himanshu and Shambhavi, who finished fourth in qualifying with a score of 629.5, faced the American pair Griffin Lake and Elijah Spencer in the bronze medal match. Initially trailing 1-7, they made a fierce comeback to take a 13-7 lead. The Americans managed to win only one more series, as the Indians sealed the victory 17-9, comfortably securing the bronze.

On Saturday, Shambhavi and Ojasvi Thakur had finished 1-2 in the women’s air rifle event, giving India their first double podium finish of the tournament.

Although the trap finals were scheduled for later in the day, no Indian athletes were participating in the event. The women had already finished outside the top six, and the men were also well below the cut line.

(With PTI Inputs)

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