Bhavtegh Singh Gill clinched a silver medal in the men’s skeet event, marking India’s second medal at the International Shooting Sport Federation (ISSF) Junior World Cup, which concluded on Monday.
The young Indian shooter, who previously secured silver at the Junior Asian Championships, scored 52 in the six-man final, finishing behind American Benjamin Keller, who hit 56 out of 60 clay targets.
Gill’s achievement followed Sabeera Haris’s bronze in the junior women’s trap, pushing India to third place in the medal standings behind the USA and Italy, according to a release from the National Rifle Association of India (NRAI).
Starting the day with the final two rounds of qualification, Gill secured his place in the top six with a score of 121, ranking fifth.
American Jordan Sapp, who eventually won bronze, topped the qualifications with a perfect score of 125, matching the junior world record. Italian shooter Antonio La Volpe won a tight four-way shoot-off to clinch the sixth spot after scoring 120.
In the final, Frenchman Dorian Richard and La Volpe were the first to falter, missing five and seven targets respectively in the opening 20-target round. Gill was joint second with Sapp and Lithuanian Tomas Vaitekunas, each missing three targets, while Keller led the pack with a flawless round.
Gill then shot a perfect round of 20, catching up to Keller who missed three targets, securing a medal position as Sapp settled for bronze. Gill maintained his composure to secure silver, while Keller finished strongly to claim gold.
Other Indian participants in the junior men’s skeet included Zoravar Bedi, who ranked 26th with a score of 115, and Munek Battula, who finished 33rd with 113.
In the junior women’s skeet, Sanjana Sood was the highest-ranked Indian, finishing 10th with a score of 114. Vanshika Tiwari and Zahra Deesawala followed, finishing 13th and 36th with scores of 112 and 101, respectively.