ISSF Junior World Cup: Women sweep 50m rifle prone, men win silver and bronze

India got off to a stellar start at the ISSF Junior World Cup on Thursday, with the women shooters sweeping the podium in the 50m rifle prone event, while the men secured a silver and a bronze in the same category at the Dr. Karni Singh Ranges.

Women’s 50m rifle prone:
Anushka Thokur continued her remarkable form from the recent Asian Championships in Kazakhstan, where she had claimed junior gold in the 50m rifle 3 positions, clinching the top spot with a score of 621.6. Eighteen-year-old Anshika followed with 619.2 for silver, and 20-year-old Aadhya Agrawal rounded out the podium with 615.9, marking a clean sweep for India in this non-Olympic discipline.

Men’s 50m rifle prone:
In the men’s event, Deependra Singh Shekhawat and Rohit Kanyan won their maiden international medals, finishing with silver (617.9) and bronze (616.3) respectively. The gold was claimed by Individual Neutral Athletes (AIN) competitor Kamil Nuriakhmetov, who tallied 618.9 points in the 11-shooter field.

Other Indian contenders included Nitin Waghmare (615.6), Kushagra Singh (611.6), and Kunal Sharma (590.9), who finished fifth, eighth, and eleventh respectively. Deependra had previously competed in the men’s 50m rifle 3-positions at the Asian Championships, making his silver here another promising achievement.

With day one focusing on non-Olympic events, attention now turns to the Olympic disciplines, as competitions in men’s and women’s 10m air pistol are set to begin on Friday.

This strong showing on the opening day underscores India’s depth in junior shooting and sets a high benchmark for the rest of the tournament.

With PTI inputs