Indian Sports Wrap, May 26: India pips China to top medals tally at ISSF Junior World Championships

Indian Sports Wrap, May 26: India pips China to top medals tally at ISSF Junior World Championships

In a memorable show, India’s Tejaswini claimed the gold medal in the women’s 25m pistol event to help the country pip China and finish on top of the standings in the ISSF Junior World Cup in Suhl on Monday.

This was the 20-year-old from Haryana’s first individual World Cup medal, India’s 11th of the campaign and its third gold, to go with four silver and bronze each.

China also won three gold but has just an additional bronze in its tally.

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

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 on Monday, 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 participants 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, while Miriam, a double junior European Champion, took the eighth spot.

As the 10 series of five rapid-fire shots final began, Tejawini 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 till the fifth series when the Indian shot another four to Zhao’s one, effectively putting an end to her challenge.

Tejaswini tackled the other challengers with remarkable calmness and consistency. It came from Chinese Taipei’s Cheng Yen-Ching and Miriam and finally from Alina, but none could come close as Tejaswini closed out clinically.

Among other Indians, Naamya Kapoor too shot well to rise up 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 the 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, Peru last year.

-PTI

Asian Games silver medallist Lakshay Sheoran beat Jaswinder Singh 43-41 for the top spot in trap in the second National shotgun selection trials at the Dr. Karni Singh Range, Tughlakabad, on Monday.

Lakshay had earlier topped qualification with 120, as he wound up with the perfect score of 25 in the last two rounds.

Jungsher Virk (119), national champion Shardul Vihan (118) and Rayyan Rizvi (116) were the others to make the final.

Some of the prominent shooters, Kynan Chenai (114), Vivaan Kapoor (113) and Prithviraj Tondaiman (112) failed to make the final.

In women’s trap, Neeru beat Aashima Ahlawat 40-39, after topping qualification with 115. Rajeshwari Kumari climbed to the third spot, ahead of Addya Katyal, Preeti Rajak and Pragati Dubey.

Olympian Shagun Chowdhary shot 107 and missed the final by two points.

-Team Sportstar

Indian golfer Aditi Ashok played three under on the final day to secure her first top 10 finish of the season at the MEXICO Riviera Maya Open.

With a final round 69, Aditi was Tied-ninth, her best this season.

Starting her final round on the front nine, Aditi picked up shots on the third and fifth holes. On the back nine she started with consecutive birdies on the 10th and 11th holes before she dropped those shots on the 12th with a double bogey.

The double bogey would be her only rough patch during the round. She closed off her round with her fifth birdie on the 16th hole.

-PTI

Saptak Talwar endured contrasting fortunes on the two sides of the Bogense Golf Club at the Danish Golf Challenge as he shot even par 72 and finished T-64 at the HotelPlanner Tour event in Bogense, Denmark.

Talwar started on the back nine and had two pars before picking five birdies in the next six holes. He finished the stretch with a bogey and had a totally different run on the front side of the course, which was his second nine.

He had four bogeys and no birdies and ended at even par 72.

-PTI

Indian boxers Sanju and Anshul Gill registered convincing wins to move into the semifinals as the country’s pugilists continued their solid run at the fourth Thailand Open International Boxing Tournament here on Monday.

Competing in the women’s 60 kg category, Sanju notched up her second straight win of the tournament with a clean 5-0 verdict over Indonesia’s Reka Mariana Kasibulan in the quarterfinal bout.

The National Games bronze medallist maintained her control throughout the three rounds, staying composed and showing clear technical superiority to outbox her opponent and secure a place in the last four stage.

In the men’s 90+ kg division, Gill delivered a strong performance against Kazakhstan’s Daniyal Saparbay, to win by unanimous decision.

Gill kept a steady rhythm from the start, combining tight defense with effective counters to keep the Kazakh boxer at bay. He will next face Uzbekistan’s Rustamov Abdurakhmon in the semifinals.

Sanju and Gill’s progress added to India’s impressive run in the tournament, with both boxers assuring themselves of at least a bronze medal finish.

India have fielded a 19-member strong contingent in the tournament that has attracted boxers from powerhouses like China, Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, South Korea, and host Thailand.

-PTI

Archer Prathamesh Fuge has won the compound men’s individual gold medal in the Veronica’s Cup World ranking event at Kamnik, Slovenia.

Fuge, who was seventh in the qualification round with a total of 706 points, got two byes and then shot consistently high scores to beat Italy’s Alessandro Motta 146-134, Romania’s Teodor Vlad 149-126, Austria’s former World champion Nico Wiener 149-147 and Asian Games team gold medallist compatriot Prathamesh Jawkar 150-147 (in the semifinals).

In the title clash, Fuge edged past Israel’s European youth champion Shamai Yamrom 148-148 (10*-10) via shoot-off by hitting closer to the centre.

Jawkar finished fourth after getting beaten by local favourite Tim Jevsnik 147-147 (10*-10) in the bronze medal match.

-Team Sportstar

Published on May 26, 2025