ISSF Junior World Championship: Abhinav-Gautami bag gold medal in 10m air rifle mixed team event

The young Indian duo of Abhinav Shaw and Gautami Bhanot clinched the gold medal win over their French opponents Oceanne Muller and Romain Aufrere in the 10m air rifle mixed team event at ISSF World Championship Juniors in Changwon, Korea.

In the thrilling gold medal match on day two of the tournament, the pair displayed skill and teamwork to remain on top as they beat their opponents 17-13. 

The National Rifle Association of India shared the news on its social media handles, writing, 

Smiles of Success! Young champs #GautamiBhanot & 

@iamabhinavshaw

 after clinching the 10m Air Rifle Mixed Team gold ???? at the 

@issf_official

 world championship juniors earlier today. Go India ????????????????????

With this win, India raced to the second spot on the medals tally with three gold, one silver and two bronze medals.

China, however, claims the top spot with as many gold and bronze medals but with an extra silver to their kitty.

Earlier, India also bagged a bronze in the second shooting event of the day – the 10m air pistol mixed team event, with Abhinav Choudhury and Sainyam – who reigned supreme in the air pistol women’s individual competition on Sunday, beating the Korean pair of Kim Juri and Kim Kanghyun (17-11), in the bronze-medal match.

Meanwhile, upbeat youngsters, Abhinav and Gautami had earlier shot 627.4 in the qualification and stood second amongst 35 teams to qualify for the gold medal match-up.

‘The Indian pair take top spot’

While the French duo of Oceanne and Romain had topped the qualification with 632.4, the Indian pair of Abhinav Shaw and Gautami Bhanot weathered the storm in the all-important clash. Despite trailing behind 0-4 in the beginning, the Indian team showed grit and teamwork to take the lead and win the gold medal clash by a 17-13 scoreline.

Meanwhile, India has the largest contingent with a total of 90 shooters, followed by the host country Korea (66) and USA (43). Over 550 shooters from 44 countries are competing at the ISSF Junior World Championships 2023.