The International Shooting Sport Federation (ISSF) Junior World Championship ended at the Las Palmas shooting range in Lima, Peru, with India winning a total of 43 medals, including all 12 available on Saturday.
On the final day, India’s gold medalists were Vijayveer Sidhu, Rhythm Sangwan, Arjun Singh Cheema, and Shikha Narwal, putting India securely in the lead with 17 gold medals.
The teams started leaving on Sunday, October 10, 2021. The medal tally was revised on Monday, pending confirmation from the ISSF, as requested by the National Rifle Association of India (NRAI). In addition to the 17 gold medals, India now possesses 16 silver and ten bronze medals.
With his third gold medal in the Shooting Championship, Vijayveer started the sweep with a win in the Junior Men’s 25M Standard Pistol. Udhayveer, Vijayveer’s twin brother, won silver with 570, the same score as Vijayveer but with three fewer inner tens. In a field of 17, Harsh Gupta took bronze with a score of 566.
Then, in the standard 25m Junior Girl’s pistol, Rhythm Sangwan won her fourth championship gold with a score of 573, leaving compatriots Niveditha Veloor Nair (565) and Naamya Kapoor (563) in second and third place, respectively.
Then, in the Junior Men’s 50M Pistol, India’s Arjun Singh Cheema dominated the 16-strong competition with a 549 out of 600, with compatriots Shaurya Sarin and Ajinkya Chavan finishing on the same score. On the inner 10s and countback, Shaurya came in second and Ajinkya came in third. Shikha Narwal of India won the Junior Women’s 50M Pistol with a score of 530 in the Shooting Championship’s final event. Navdeep Kaur placed third with 526 points, while Esha Singh was second with 529.
In all, the Pistol discipline outperformed the other two for India, accounting for 26 of the 43 medals. Shotgun took home nine medals, while rifle took home eight. However, all three categories produced notable achievements with the future of Indian Shooting in mind.
Aishwary Pratap Singh Tomar and Manu Bhaker, both Olympians, reaffirmed their world-class credentials with overwhelming performances. Manu was India’s most successful athlete, winning four gold and one bronze medal, while Aishwary set a junior world record on her way to gold in the Junior Men’s 50M Rifle 3 Positions.
Ganemat Sekhon won two medals (one gold and one silver) in the Junior Women’s Skeet event in the Shotgun category, enhancing her status as a promising future possibility.
