Shooting
ISSF Junior World Cup 2025: India shines with three golds
Indian shooters dominate early stages in New Delhi, winning women's 50m rifle prone, men's 10m air pistol, and 10m air pistol mixed team events.
Kapil & Rashmika clinch the 10m air pistol mixed team gold (center) & Jonathan & Vanshika win silver(left). (Photo credit: NRAI)
India continued its golden run at the ISSF Junior World Cup at the Dr. Karni Singh Ranges in New Delhi, securing three gold medals in the first three days of competition.
The latest triumph came in the 10m air pistol mixed team event, where the Indian pair of Rashmika Sahgal and Kapil emerged victorious, defeating fellow Indians Vanshika Chaudhary and Jonathan Antony 16-10 in a one-sided final.
Rashmika Sahgal and Kapil, fresh off their recent victories in the men’s and women’s 10m air pistol junior events at the Asian Championships in Kazakhstan, dominated the qualification round, scoring a combined 582 to enter the four-team final as the top seed. Their early lead in the final proved decisive as the duo clinched India’s third gold of the tournament. The bronze medal went to Spain’s Ines Ortega Castro and Lucas Sanchez, who defeated Iran’s Parimah Amiri and Mohammadreza Ahmadi 16-14.
In women’s skeet junior, India continued its strong showing as Paris 2024 Olympian Raiza Dhillon took silver and Mansi Raghuwanshi claimed bronze, while Italy’s Ariana Nember won gold with a score of 53, edging Raiza by two points.
Earlier in the week, India had already claimed two other golds. On Sep 26, 16-year-old Jonathan Antony stole the spotlight by winning the men’s 10m air pistol final with a flawless 244.8, finishing 8.5 points ahead of Italy’s Luca Arrighi. Rashmika Sahgal also added to India’s medal tally with a silver in the women’s 10m air pistol event.
The campaign started on September 25 with Anushka Thokur capturing gold in the women’s 50m rifle prone event, completing an Indian clean sweep alongside teammates Anshika and Aadhya Agrawal. In the men’s 50m rifle prone event, the same day, India secured silver and bronze through Deependra Singh Shekhawat and Rohit Kanyan, further bolstering the medal tally.
A 69-member Indian contingent, spearheaded by Raiza Dhillon and Asian trap champion Sabeera Haris, is competing at the ISSF Junior World Cup 2025 in New Delhi. The event, which concludes on October 2, features 208 shooters from 19 federations. This marks the 11th edition of the Junior Shooting World Cup and the first to be held in India.
With 11 medals in total – three gold, five silver, and three bronze – India is currently leading the overall medal standings, ahead of Italy (two gold, one silver) and Individual Neutral Athletes (two gold).
The ISSF Junior World Cup continues in New Delhi with more finals across rifle, pistol, and skeet events, promising further action and opportunities for young Indian shooters to shine.
