Key Points

Naraen Pranav delivered a strong performance to win bronze in the men's 10m air rifle junior event at the ISSF Junior World Cup in Suhl. The Khelo India Youth Games champion held his nerve in a tense final, narrowly edging out Germany's Florian Beer. He finished behind USA's Braden Peiser and China's Huang Liwanlin, who took silver and gold respectively. This marks India's fifth medal at the prestigious junior shooting competition.

Key Points: Naraen Pranav Wins Bronze at Suhl Junior Shooting World Cup

  • Naraen Pranav tops qualification with 632.1
  • Edges past Florian Beer by 0.1 for bronze
  • Finishes behind USA's Braden Peiser and China's Huang Liwanlin
  • India secures fifth medal at Suhl Junior World Cup
2 min read

Suhl Junior Shooting World Cup: Naraen Pranav wins air rifle bronze as India win fifth medal

Indian shooter Naraen Pranav clinches bronze in the men's 10m air rifle junior event, securing India's fifth medal at the ISSF Junior World Cup in Suhl.

"He was in the lead after the first five-shot series. – Competition Report"

Suhl, May 24

Teenager Naraen Pranav won bronze in the men's 10m air rifle junior event to give India their second bronze and fifth medal of the ongoing International Shooting Sport Federation (ISSF) Junior World Cup in Suhl. The Khelo India Youth Games champion shot 227.9 in the final to finish behind Braden Peiser (250.0) of the USA, who won silver. China's Huang Liwanlin (250.3) won gold.

Shooting a final which had both, the reigning 3P junior world champion in Peiser- a rare southpaw in the sport, and the world championship silver medalist and junior Asian champion in the event Huang, along with the likes of 3P gold medalist from yesterday, Romain Aufrere, was never going to be easy.

To his credit, Naraen remain unfazed by the magnitude of the occasion and the quality of the field to deliver a confident and strong start to the 24-shot match-up, which eventually helped him bag the coveted medal.

He was in the lead after the first five-shot series. After the second, during which he had to account for reorganising his stance, he was third behind Huang, who had gone into the lead for the first time and local hope Florian Beer.

As the single shots began, Naraen momentarily went down to fourth, regained third spot after the 15th, but a 9.8 for his 17th saw him go down to fifth and in danger of elimination.

With Griffin Lake of the USA just 0.1 behind in sixth, Naraen in what was turning out to be a closely fought high quality final, shot a 10.4 as the American failed to register a shot in the allotted time.

It was as if the stroke of luck Naraen needed as he fired a 10.7 and followed it up with a 10.5, to account for Beer by 0.1 to snatch the medal. After 22 shots, he finished 1.1 behind Peiser and 1.2 behind the winner, Huang, to bow out.

Earlier, Naraen had shot a sizzling 632.1 to top the 77-field qualifying round, giving an early impression of the kind of shooting form he was in.

- ANI

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Reader Comments

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Rahul K.
What a proud moment for Indian shooting sports! 🎯 Naraen Pranav showed tremendous grit against world-class opponents. At just 17, this is an incredible achievement. The future of Indian shooting looks bright with talents like him coming up through Khelo India program.
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Priya M.
Bronze with 227.9 against China's gold at 250.3 shows there's still some gap to bridge. But coming from behind against such tough competition deserves applause! Hope our shooters get more international exposure before Paris Olympics.
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Arjun S.
China's Huang Liwanlin was just 0.3 points ahead of American shooter - shows how competitive this field was! Naraen topping qualification with 632.1 proves his potential. With more experience, he can definitely challenge for gold next time. Jai Hind!
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Sunita R.
The way he recovered from 9.8 in 17th shot shows amazing mental strength. In shooting, the real competition is with yourself. Proud of our young champions making India proud globally 🇮🇳
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Vikram J.
Fifth medal for India in this competition! Our junior shooters are consistently performing well internationally. Hope the government continues investing in sports infrastructure - we have the talent, just need proper support system.

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