India continued its dominance at the ISSF Junior World Championship 2024, with the men’s 25m rapid fire pistol team winning the gold medal on Thursday.
The team, comprising Raajwardhan Paatil, Mukesh Nelavalli, and Harsimar Singh Rattha, secured a brilliant victory, further strengthening India’s top position in the medal tally.
With this win, India has now claimed 16 medals in total: 11 gold, one silver, and four bronze. China follows in second place with three gold and one silver, while the USA holds third with 10 medals overall.
Raajwardhan Paatil and Mukesh Nelavalli both performed impressively in the qualifying round, finishing third and fourth with scores of 579-17x and 579-15x, respectively.
Harsimar Singh Rattha placed 13th with a score of 564-10x. The combined score of 1722-42x by the three shooters ensured India’s gold, placing them ahead of France and Poland, both of whom finished with 1701 points but with fewer bullseyes.
In the individual final, Paatil and Nelavalli both made it to the six-man shoot-off. Paatil finished fourth with a score of 17/30, while Nelavalli was eliminated in fifth place with 10/25. China’s Jianan Yao won the individual gold, followed by France’s Yan Chesnel and Poland’s Tomasz Jedraszczyk.
Indian shooters will continue to compete in the championship, with the men’s and women’s trap events scheduled for Friday’s qualification round and Saturday’s finals.
The ISSF Junior World Championship 2024 features over 560 shooters from 51 nations, and India has sent the largest contingent, with 61 shooters participating. The competition is set to conclude on October 6.