India finishes ISSF Junior World Cup campaign as table-topper with 19 medals

India finished its ISSF Junior World Cup Rifle/Pistol/Shotgun campaign as the table-topper with 19 medals after a successful week in New Delhi.

In the Olympic events, India clinched six gold, eight silver, and five bronze medals. AIN (Individual Neutral Athlete) followed in second place with 10 medals (4G, 2S, 4B), while Italy was third with five medals (2G, 2S, 1B).

In addition, India added two gold, two silver, and three bronze medals in the non-Olympic events of 50m rifle prone (men and women) and 25m pistol men junior individual.

A total of eight countries won medals across seven competition days, with five — India, AIN, Italy, Croatia, and Czechia — securing gold.

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On the final day of the competition at the Dr. Karni Singh Shooting range, India added a silver in the junior women’s 25m pistol through Tejaswani Singh, who won gold at the Suhl Junior World Cup.

Individual Neutral Athlete Aleksandra Tikhonova claimed the junior women’s 25m pistol gold, while Czechia’s Tereza Zaviskova and Tomas Nantl edged compatriots Lea Kucerova and Kamil Bednar to win the Trap mixed team junior gold.

Tikhonova was steady from the start in the 25m Pistol Women Junior final, hitting 33 to secure gold. Tejaswani, who had dominated qualification with 580-17x, kept pace but finished with silver on 30, while Italian athlete Alessandra Fait completed the podium with 28.

The Trap Mixed Team Junior final produced a close all-Czech duel, with Zaviskova and Nantl edging compatriots Lea Kucerova, who won trap women junior gold yesterday, and Kamil Bednar 39–38 for gold.

European junior champions Irene Del Rey Ruiz and Isaac Hernandez from Spain defeated Italy’s Sofia Gori and Luca Gerri 7–6 in a shoot-off after a 40–40 tie to win the bronze medal match. India’s Addya Katyal and Arjun narrowly missed the bronze medal match by a single hit, finishing fifth with 136, while Bhavya Tripathi and Arya Vansh Tyagi ended tenth on 132.

In the 25m pistol men junior individual, a non-Olympic event, junior world champion Mukesh Nellavalli from India built on his precision stage score of 289-9x from yesterday with a superb 296-14x in rapid fire to finish with 585-23x for gold.

AIN’s Aleksandr Kovalev, already 25m rapid fire pistol champion earlier in the competition, took silver with 577-17x, and Sahil Choudhary ensured another medal for India with bronze on 573-21x.

Published on Oct 01, 2025