New Delhi [India], September 30 : The penultimate day of the ISSF Junior World Cup Rifle/Pistol/Shotgun New Delhi brought high drama as India's Isha Anil Taksale and Himanshu staged a thrilling comeback to win the 10m Air Rifle Mixed Team gold against compatriots Shambhavi S Kshirsagar and Naraen Pranav, while Croatia's 20-year-old Toni Gudelj and Czechia's Lea Kucerova claimed their nations' first gold medals of the tournament with impressive victories in the Trap events at Dr. Karni Singh Shooting Range here on Tuesday.
India also added a bronze through Vinay Pratap Singh Chandrawat in the men's Trap final. The hosts stayed firmly on top of the medal tally with 23 medals (7 gold, 9 silver, and 7 bronze), as per a press release from the National Rifle Association of India (NRAI).
In a gripping all-India gold medal clash in the 10m Air Rifle Mixed Team event, the pair of Isha Anil Taksale and Himanshu staged a remarkable comeback to defeat compatriots Shambhavi S. Kshirsagar and Naraen Pranav 17-15. Trailing 15-9 at one stage, Isha and Himanshu rallied by winning four consecutive series to seal the gold.
Both teams showcased high-quality shooting with Shambhavi hitting two perfect 10.9s and Isha adding one, while only five of the 64 shots fired in the match dipped below 10.
The bronze medal went to Individual Neutral Athletes Varvara Kardakova and Kamil Nuriakhmetov, who defeated compatriots Mariia Kruglova and Timofei Aleinikov 17-9.
Czechia's Lea Kucerova clinched the women's Trap junior title with 41 hits, securing her nation's first medal of the competition. Italy's Sofia Gori earned silver with 37, while AIN's Kseniia Samofalova took bronze with 30.
Earlier, Kucerova and Lucy Myers of the USA had prevailed in a tense qualification shoot-off to secure final berths ahead of India's Sabeera Haris, who finished seventh despite tying on 112 hits.
Croatia's 20-year-old Toni Gudelj delivered a commanding performance in the men's Trap junior final, hitting 44 targets to give his country its first gold medal of the event. Spain's Isaac Hernandez, who topped qualification with 120+6, settled for silver on 41.
India's Vinay Pratap Singh Chandrawat claimed bronze with 34, while his teammate Arjun placed fourth on 29. Daniel Fernandez de Vicente (Spain) and Tony Meola (USA) completed the final line-up with 24 and 18 hits, respectively.
In pistol action, the women's 25m Pistol precision stage saw India's Tejaswani lead the standings with 288-9x, ahead of Italy's Alessandra Fait (287-8x) and AIN's Viktoriia Kholodnaia (286-8x). India's Naamya Kapoor (284-4x) was fourth, followed by Aleksandra Tikhonova (283-9x) and Riya Shirish Thatte (281-6x). The rapid-fire stage will follow tomorrow, after which the top six will move into the final.
In the men's 25m Pistol, a non-Olympic event, precision stage, India's Raghav Verma led with 290-4x, closely trailed by teammate Mukesh Nelavalli (289-9x). AIN's Georgii Tarasov was third on 285-5x. With the rapid-fire stage to be completed tomorrow morning, the cumulative scores will determine the medal winners.
India continues to lead the standings with 23 medals (seven gold, nine silver, silver bronze). AIN (Neutral Athletes) are second with nine medals (four gold, two silver, four bronze), while Italy sits third with two gold and two silver. Croatia and Czechia have now joined the gold medal winners' list, taking the tally of nations with gold medals to five.