Indian shooters commenced their ISSF Junior World Championship campaign in Peru with a resounding start, securing team gold medals in both the men’s and women’s 10m air pistol events. However, a potential individual gold medal was lost due to a two-point penalty for reporting late to the final.
In the men’s 10m air pistol team competition, the trio of Umesh Choudhary, Pradhyumn Singh, and Mukesh Nelavalli emerged victorious with a combined score of 1726 points. They outshot Romania by 10 points, while Italy claimed the bronze with 1707 points.
Choudhary, who had qualified third for the individual final, missed out on a potential gold medal after being penalized two points for tardiness. Despite shooting 580 in the qualification round, he finished sixth in the final. Singh, who qualified fourth, ended up eighth with a score of 578. Romania’s Luca Joldea clinched the individual gold, while Chinese Taipei’s Hsieh Hsiang-Chen took the silver.
In the women’s 10m air pistol team event, the Indian trio of Kanishka Dagar, Lakshita, and Anjali Chaudhary combined for a score of 1708 points, edging out Azerbaijan by a single point and Ukraine by four points.
Dagar also qualified for the individual final in third place with a score of 573, along with Kanika, who shot the same score but with fewer inner 10s. In the final, Kanika secured the bronze medal with a score of 217.6, while Dagar finished eighth. Chinese Taipei’s Chen Yu-Chun won the gold, and Slovakia’s Manja Slak took the silver.
