Jonathan claims gold, Rashmika silver at junior shooting WC

India’s teenage shooting prodigy Jonathan Gavin Antony took the world stage by storm on day two of the 11th ISSF Junior World Cup, clinching gold in the men’s 10m air pistol with a flawless performance. At just 16, Jonathan’s composure and precision left spectators in awe as he converted his top qualification score of 586-19x into a dominant final, hitting 21 out of 24 shots in the 10s to win by 8.5 points. The competition is being held at the Dr. Karni Singh Shooting Range in New Delhi from September 24 to October 2, 2025

Italy’s Luca Arrighi settled for silver with 236.3 (572-21x), while Spain’s Lucas Sanchez Tome captured bronze on 215.1 (573-11x). The day also featured the tournament’s first shoot-off, with Iran’s Hosein Gohari edging out Italy’s Gabriele Aldo Villani for sixth place after a tie at 156.8. Gohari eventually finished fifth with 174.8 (572-12x). India’s Chirag Sharma, second in qualification at 578-15x, ended eighth with 115.6.

In the junior women’s 10m air pistol, Rashmika Sahgal shone with a hard-fought silver. Evelina Shiena, competing as an Individual Neutral Athlete, led from start to finish to claim gold with 240.9. Rashmika, who qualified fifth with 573-17x, finished at 236.1, narrowly missing the top spot. Iran’s Fatemah Shekari bagged bronze with 213.8. Other Indian finalists included Vanshika Chaudhary, top qualifier at 576-17x, who finished fifth with 174.2, and Mohini Singh, second-best qualifier at 576-12x, placed sixth with 153.2.

The junior skeet competition, for junior-level athletes also began on day two. Asian Championship silver medallist Harmehar Singh Lally led the men’s qualification with 74 hits out of 75, closely followed by Cyprus’s Andreas Pontikis, Finland’s Lassi Akseli Matias, and Italy’s Marco Coco, all scoring 73. India’s Jyotiraditya Singh Sisodiya, Atul Singh, and Czechia’s Alex Petrasek recorded 72 hits each.

In the junior women’s skeet, reigning Asian champion Mansi Raghuwanshi topped qualification with 71 hits. She was followed by USA’s Chloe Chaleunsinh (69) and Italy’s Arianna Nember (68). Individual Neutral Athletes Varvara Zaitseva and Kseniia Shuliak, along with India’s Agrima Kanwar, tied at 67 hits, while Olympian Raiza Dhillon and Yashasvi Rathore scored 65 each, placing seventh.

With Jonathan’s stellar gold and Rashmika’s strong silver, India has made an impressive start at the ISSF Junior World Cup, raising hopes for more medals in the coming days.