The 16-year-old from Pune shot 251.3 in the eight-man final to finish ahead of Neutral athlete Timofei Aleinikov and Norway’s Jens Oestli. | Photo Credit: ISSF

Teenager Pritam Kendre clinched the men’s 10m air rifle gold medal as India continued its impressive campaign at the ISSF Junior World Championship, while also adding a bronze in the women’s 25m pistol team event on Sunday.

The two medals took India’s tally to 11, including five gold.

Competing in only his second international tournament, the 16-year-old from Pune shot 251.3 in the eight-man final to finish ahead of Neutral athlete Timofei Aleinikov and Norway’s Jens Oestli. Kendre, who recently completed his Class 10 board examinations, said winning the world title had boosted his confidence and credited Gagan Narang’s Gun For Glory Shooting Academy for his rapid rise.

Kendre and compatriot Piyush Sharma qualified for the final after placing third and fifth in qualification with scores of 628.2 and 629.0 respectively. While Piyush led early, Kendre climbed steadily through the eliminations before sealing the title with a composed finish. Piyush narrowly missed a medal, finishing fourth by just 0.1 point.

Kendre’s winning effort included 15 shots of 10.5 or above, featuring two 10.9s and two 10.8s. India, however, missed out on the men’s team event after Abhinav Shaw was disqualified following an equipment compliance failure.

Later, Anjali Bhagwat, Parisha Gupta and Nithila Christopher combined for 1713 (43x) to win bronze in the women’s 25m pistol team event. Teams of Neutral athletes claimed the gold and silver medals.

Anjali also reached the individual final after qualifying seventh with 577-11x but finished sixth after losing a shoot-off to Ukraine’s Karina Zaichenko. More than 800 shooters from 70 federations are competing in the championship, which concludes on June 26.

Published on Jun 22, 2026