New Delhi, May 26 (IANS) 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, to help 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 bronze medals each. China also won three golds but have just an additional bronze in their 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.

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, as 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.

They were coming from elsewhere however but Tejaswini fended each one of them 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 the 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 15th spot overall.

India have 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)

–IANS

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