Indian Shooters Strike Gold at ISSF Junior World Championship

Indian shooters excelled at the ISSF Junior World Championship in Peru, winning team gold in both men's and women's 10m air pistol events. Despite a stellar team performance, individual podium finishes were missed. Umesh Choudhary lost potential gold due to a penalty, and Lukia Joldea of Romania won the individual men's gold.

Indian shooters began their ISSF Junior World Championship (Rifle/Pistol/Shotgun) campaign in Peru strongly, clinching team gold in the men's and women's 10m air pistol events. However, their chances of securing individual top-podium finishes were diminished when a marksman was docked two points for reporting late to the final.

The junior men's trio of Umesh Choudhary, Pradhyumn Singh, and Mukesh Nelavalli triumphed in the men's team competition with a total of 1726 points, finishing 10 points ahead of Romania. Italy secured bronze with a score of 1707. Choudhary, however, missed out on a potential individual gold after being penalized two points for tardiness.

In the individual finals, Choudhary and Singh placed sixth and eighth, respectively, while Luca Joldea of Romania won gold and Chinese Taipei's Hsieh Hsiang-Chen took silver. In the junior women's event, Kanishka Dagar, Lakshita, and Anjali Chaudhary clinched gold with 1708 points, narrowly defeating Azerbaijan and Ukraine. Dagar and Kanak qualified for the individual finals, where Kanak secured bronze and Dagar finished eighth.

(With inputs from agencies.)