Day two of the ISSF Junior World Cup delivered a medal bonanza for India’s young shooters, who pocketed three silvers and a bronze to climb to third in the overall standings. Hosting the Rifle/Pistol/Shotgun competitions at Cairo’s premier range, the event saw Kazakhstan and Individual Neutral Athletes (AIN) snag most golds, but India’s resilience shone through.
Rohit Kanyan’s near-perfect performance in men’s junior 50m rifle prone yielded 615.8 for silver, a mere 0.5 deficit to Kazakhstan’s Oleg Noskov. This set the tone for a day of high drama.
Shifting to pistol, Sajal Kambale topped qualifiers at 580 in women’s junior 25m, then battled fiercely in the final for 27 hits and silver. AIN’s Katsiaryna Ivanova prevailed with 31, in a final defined by precision under pressure.
The men’s 25m pistol junior event brought India’s second double podium: Raj Chandra’s 580 for silver and Abhinav Deshwal’s 578 for bronze, echoing yesterday’s heroics. Kazakhstan’s Kirill Tsukanov led with 581 for gold.
Shotgun action featured Risham Guron’s strong qualification (115) in women’s skeet, but she bowed out early in finals. AIN’s Varvara Zaitseva etched history with a 33/40 world record gold.
In men’s skeet, Ishan Singh Libra’s 118 qualifier score led to a final sixth place, agonizingly close to bronze. Britain’s Denzil Jago Grosse clinched gold at 31 hits over Italy’s Marco Coco’s 30, marking his second such triumph.
India’s ascent to third underscores the depth of talent nurtured in the country, promising more excitement as the tournament progresses.
