ISSF Junior World Championships 2024: Divanshi captures gold in women's 25m pistol, takes India's medal tally to 14

India secured five medals in day four of ISSF Junior World Championships 2024.

India hit double figures in the gold tally at the ISSF Junior World Championships in Lima on a day when their athletes again entered world record territory at the Las Palmas Shooting Range.

Their trio of Shourya Saini, Vedant Waghmare and Parikshit Brar equalled the Qualifying World Junior Record mark of 1753 in winning the team event in the 50m rifle 3 positions men, with Norway and Sweden taking silver and bronze respectively. This followed the outright record set by India in the women’s 10m air rifle team event.

But while India had dominated the team event in the 50m rifle 3 positions, they did not get onto the podium in the later individual competition, where gold went in dramatic fashion to Braden Peiser of the United States.

Men’s 50m Rifle 3 Positions Final

The 19-year-old, who won team bronze when the first of these stand-alone Championships were held at the same venue in 2021, moved two places up the podium as he overhauled Sweden’s Victor Lindgren, senior world champion and Paris 2024 silver medallist in the 10m air rifle event, with his final shot.

Trailing by 449.8 to 449.6, Peiser scored 10.7 to finish just 0.1 ahead after the 21-year-old Swede had managed a concluding 10.4, a mark usually good enough to hold onto his lead. Strong echoes of the previous day’s 10m air rifle men final, where Peiser had beaten Lindgren to bronze.

Also Read: ISSF Junior World Championships 2024: Parth Rakesh Mane crowned world champion in men’s 10m air rifle event

Meanwhile bronze in the 50m rifle 3 positions final went to Norway’s Jens Oestli, who edged the defending champion, France’s Paris 2024 Olympian Romain Aufrere, into fourth place. Oestli had been the leader from the end of the first prone round, but slowly his hefty lead was eaten away at. Still 0.7 in front of Lindgren in the battle for bronze, his bottle crashed with a mark of 7.5, condemning him to third instead.

Women’s 25m Pistol Final

There was similar drama in the 25m pistol women individual final, where India’s Divanshi earned her second gold of the Championships, beating long-time leader Cristina Magnani of Italy in the final sequence of five shots.

Magnani reached the penultimate round with a 29-27 lead over her Indian rival, but three misses – as opposed to Divanshi’s single miss – saw the pair enter the last sequence tied at 31-31.

Once again the Italian shooter managed only two hits, with Divanshi scoring four to win gold 35-33. The momentum swing was clear, as Divanshi missed just five of her last 25 shots, while Magnani missed 13. 

She thus completed a win double, having already partnered Tejaswani Tejaswani and Vibhuti Bhatia to team gold ahead of the Czech Republic and Germany. Individual bronze went to France’s Heloise Fourre.

Mixed Team Skeet Final

The skeet mixed team event was dominated by Italy, whose second team of Cristian Giudici and Eleonora Ruta beat the number one pairing of Riccardo Mignozzetti and Arianna Nember 39-37, coming from behind in the later stages and closing out with a perfect series in the final sequence of four shots.

There was a similar scenario in the bronze-medal match as United States’ Jordan Sapp and Madeline Corbin defeated their compatriots, Ben Keller and Alishia Layne, 38-35.

With five more days of action remaining, India – whose team of 60 is the largest present by 20 – lead the medals table with 14 medals comprising 10 golds, one silver and three bronzes.

The United States are second with two golds, four silvers and four bronzes, followed by Italy on two, three and three and China on two golds and a silver. Highlight of tomorrow’s programme will be the individual final of the men’s 25m rapid fire pistol.

For more updates, follow Khel Now on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram; download the Khel Now Android App or IOS App and join our community on Whatsapp & Telegram