Tejaswini Clinches Gold in Women’s 25m Pistol, India Tops Medal Tally at Junior World C

In a stunning result, Tejaswini of India bagged gold in the women’s 25m pistol event on the final day of the International Shooting Sport Federation (ISSF) Junior World Cup in Suhl

New Delhi: In a stunning result, Tejaswini of India bagged gold in the women’s 25m pistol event on the final day of the International Shooting Sport Federation (ISSF) Junior World Cup in Suhl, helping India clinch the top spot in the medal standings ahead of fellow powerhouses China.

It was the 20-year-old from Haryana’s first individual World Cup medal, India’s 11th of the campaign, and their third gold, to go with four silver and three bronze medals. China also won three golds but has just an additional bronze in their tally.

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The Indian shot 31 in the final, while Alina Nestsiarovich of the Individual Neutral Athletes (AIN) shot 29 for silver, and Hungary’s Miriam Jako, 23, secured the bronze medal.

It was a memorable effort from Tejaswini, who began the day 24th on the grid, after day one of qualification had yielded 282 out of a possible 300 points. In the second rapid-fire round today, she shot a strong 293, which gave her a total of 575 and fourth place overall in the 50-strong field.

She would be the only Indian among four to make the top-eight, as Riya Shirish Thatte, the best-placed overnight, shot a 92 in her final rapid-fire series to total 569, thereby missing out by four points. Miriam, a double junior European Champion, took the eighth spot.

As the 10-series of five rapid-fire shots final began, Tejaswini blasted off the blocks with two successive scores of four and had 16-year-old Chinese qualification topper Zhao Taotao for company.

That neck-and-neck fight lasted until the fifth series, when the Indian shot another four to Zhao’s one, effectively putting an end to her challenge.

There were challengers coming from elsewhere, however, but Tejaswini fended off each one of them with remarkable calmness and consistency. It came from Chinese Taipei’s Cheng Yen-Ching, Miriam, and finally from Alina, but none could come close as Tejaswini closed out the event clinically.

Among the other Indians, Naamya Kapoor also shot well to rise to 18th spot with 289 on the day, for a total of 568. Divanshi, the reigning world champion in the event, shot 564 to finish 24th, and Riya settled for 15th spot overall.

India has now topped four of the last five ISSF Junior competitions, including the previous combined World Cup in Suhl in 2023 and the combined Junior World Championships in Lima last year.
Other Indian scores on the day:

Trap Mixed Team – Vinay Chandrawat/Bhavya Tripathi 133 (sixth), Zuhair Khan/Sabeera Haris 126 (15th).