Suhl, Jun 22: Teenager Pritam Kendre struck gold in the men’s 10m air rifle competition as India’s impressive run at the ISSF Junior World Championship showed no signs of slowing down here.
India also bagged a bronze in the women’s 25m pistol team event, taking their medal tally to 11, including five gold.
Competing in only his second international tournament, the 16-year-old shot 251.3 in the eight-man final to finish ahead of Neutral athlete Timofei Aleinikov and Norway’s Jens Oestli, giving India another gold at the prestigious junior event, here on Sunday. The Pune-based shooter had recently completed his Class 10 Board exams.
“I am extremely happy with this victory. My only focus throughout the competition was on my technique and giving my best in every shot,” said Pritam.
“Winning a world championship gold has given me immense confidence. I want to continue improving in the 10m air rifle event and win many more medals for India in the years ahead.”
He also credited Gagan Narang’s Gun For Glory Shooting Academy for his rapid rise.
Pritam and compatriot Piyush Sharma were the only two Indians to make the final after shooting 628.2 and 629.0 respectively in qualification, where they finished third and fifth respectively.
Pritam was lying sixth after the second series, while Piyush had surged into the lead, but the former steadily worked his way up as the eliminations progressed.
Piyush stayed in medal contention for a long time but fell short by the narrowest of margins, missing the top-three by just 0.1 point after the fourth elimination round and finishing fourth.
Pritam then held firm in the closing stages to seal the title ahead of Aleinikov.
His winning effort included 15 shots of 10.5 or above, with two 10.9s and two 10.8s under pressure.
However, India failed to figure in the men’s team standings as third member Abhinav Shaw was disqualified after his equipment failed the ISSF compliance.
Later in the day, India picked up a bronze in the women’s 25m pistol team event through Anjali Bhagwat, Parisha Gupta and Nithila Christopher, who combined for 1713 (43x). Teams of Neutral athletes claimed the gold and silver medals.
Anjali was also the only Indian to reach the women’s 25m pistol individual final, qualifying seventh with 577-11x. Manvi Jain narrowly missed out after ending ninth in qualification.
In the final, Anjali exited in sixth place after losing a shoot-off to Ukraine’s Karina Zaichenko in the second round of eliminations.
More than 800 shooters from 70 federations are competing in the fifth edition of the Junior World Championships, with India fielding an 84-member contingent.
The tournament runs until June 26. (PTI)
