Key Points

India's 16-year-old shooting prodigy Jonathan Gavin Antony has won a spectacular gold medal. He put on a masterclass in the men's 10m air pistol final at the ISSF Junior World Cup in New Delhi. His victory was built on a phenomenal qualification round where he topped the charts. The win adds to a strong showing for the Indian contingent on the second day of the competition.

Key Points: 16-Year-Old Jonathan Wins Gold at ISSF Junior World Cup Delhi

  • Jonathan shot 21 of 24 shots in the 10s for a dominant gold medal victory
  • Italy's Luca Arrighi and Spain's Lucas Sanchez Tome claimed silver and bronze respectively
  • In the women's event, a Neutral Athlete won gold ahead of India's Rashmika Sahgal
  • Indian shooters Harmehar Lally and Mansi Raghuwanshi lead the Skeet qualification rounds
3 min read

ISSF Junior WC: India's 16-year-old Jonathan steals show to win men's 10 m air pistol title

India's teen shooter Jonathan Gavin Antony dominates the men's 10m air pistol final, winning gold with a commanding 8.5-point margin at the ISSF Junior World Cup.

"delivering a flawless performance to win the men's 10m Air Pistol title. - Press Release"

New Delhi, September 26

India's 16-year-old Jonathan Gavin Antony stole the spotlight on the second day of the ISSF Junior World Cup Rifle/Pistol/Shotgun New Delhi 2025, here at the Dr. Karni Singh Shooting Range on Friday, delivering a flawless performance to win the men's 10m Air Pistol title. The young Indian, who had topped qualification with 586-19x, carried his form into the finals, shooting 21 of 24 shots in the 10s to secure gold with a commanding margin of 8.5 points.

Italy's Luca Arrighi took silver with 236.3 (572-21x), while Spain's Lucas Sanchez Tome claimed bronze on 215.1 (573-11x). The final also witnessed the tournament's first shoot-off, where Iran's Hosein Gohari edged past Italy's Gabriele Aldo Villani for sixth place, after both were tied on 156.8. The Iranian went on to finish fifth with 174.8 (572-12x). Individual Neutral Athlete Vladislav Makarov (194.3) and Igor Tupitsym (134.9) finished fourth and seventh respectively. India's Chirag Sharma, who had entered the finals second with 578-15x, finished eighth with 115.6, to complete the final line-up, as per a press release from the National Rifle Association of India (NRAI).

In the junior women's 10m Air Pistol final, Individual Neutral Athlete Evelina Shiena delivered a composed performance, leading from start to finish to secure gold with 240.9. India's Rashmika Sahgal, who had qualified fifth with 573-17x, battled hard but fell short, taking silver with 236.1, 4.8 points behind Evelina. Iran's Fatemah Shekari, who had qualified eighth with 567-14x, rose to the occasion to secure bronze with 213.8.

Among the other Indian finalists, Vanshika Chaudhary, who had topped qualification with 576-17x, finished fifth after 18 shots with 174.2, while Mohini Singh, the second-best qualifier with 576-12x, placed sixth with 153.2.

The Skeet competition also began with qualification rounds on Day 2. Asian Championship silver medalist Harmehar Singh Lally led the men's field with an impressive 74 hits out of 75. He was closely followed by Cyprus's Andreas Pontikis, Finland's Lassi Akseli Matias, and Italy's Marco Coco, all with 73 hits. India's Jyotiraditya Singh Sisodiya and Atul Singh, along with Czechia's Alex Petrasek, are in the chasing pack with 72 hits each.

In the junior women's Skeet, reigning Asian champion Mansi Raghuwanshi topped qualification day 1 with 71 hits from 75 targets. She was followed by Uthe SA's Chloe Chaleunsinh with 69 and Italy's World Championship silver medalist Arianna Nember with 68. Individual Neutral Athletes Varvara Zaitseva and Kseniia Shuliak, along with India's Agrima Kanwar, are tied on 67. Olympian Raiza Dhillon is seventh with 65, alongside Yashasvi Rathore, also on 65.

Skeet Qualification Day 2 will be held tomorrow morning with 50 more targets, after which the top six athletes in both men's and women's categories will progress to Saturday's finals.

Day 3 of the competition (September 27, 2025) will feature three finals: the 10m Air Pistol Mixed Team final at 11:00 AM, followed by the Skeet Men's and Women's finals at 1:30 PM and 3:00 PM, respectively.

- ANI

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Reader Comments

R
Rohit P
Great to see our junior shooters performing so well on home turf. Jonathan's 8.5 point margin victory shows complete dominance. Hope this momentum continues in the mixed team event tomorrow!
S
Sarah B
Rashmika Sahgal fought really well for the silver medal. Coming from fifth position in qualification to secure second place shows great mental strength. Proud of all our young athletes!
A
Arjun K
While Jonathan's performance was outstanding, I'm a bit concerned about Chirag Sharma finishing eighth despite being second in qualification. Our shooters need better consistency in finals. Still, great overall showing by Team India!
M
Michael C
Harmehar Singh Lally leading the skeet qualification with 74/75 is impressive! Looking forward to seeing if he can convert this into gold tomorrow. The competition seems really tight in skeet events.
K
Kavya N
Mansi Raghuwanshi topping women's skeet qualification shows why she's the Asian champion. Hope she maintains this form through tomorrow's final rounds. So exciting to watch these young talents! 🥇
D
David E
The depth in Indian shooting is remarkable. Multiple athletes in top positions across different events. This bodes well for our future Olympic prospects. Keep going, champions!

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