NEW DELHI: India’s teenage shooters continue to shine at the world stage, and on Friday it was the turn of 16-year-old Hriday Hazarika who won gold in the junior men’s 10m air rifle event at the ISSF World Champioinships in Changwon, Korea, via a nerve-wracking shootoff.
Hazarika and Iran’s Amir Neokounam both ended tied at 250.1 points, taking the final into a shootoff. Incidentally, both missed the world record by an incredible 0.1 point.
The first shot in the shootoff decided the gold medal with a difference of just 0.1 point as Hazarika shot a 10.3 and Nekounam 10.2.
Hazarika shot some incredible final few shots to climb from the fourth position to first before taking the final into a shootoff. He was the lone Indian to qualify for the final with a score of 627.3.
The bronze went to Russia’s Grigorii Shamakov, who managed a score of 228.6 in the final.
The Indian team, comprising Hazarika, Divyansh Panwar and Arjun Babuta, finished fourth in the event with a combined total of 1872.3.
Earlier, there was disappointment for the country in the senior men’s 50m Rifle Three Position competition as none of the Indians in fray managed to make the cut for the finals.
Asian Games silver-medallist Sanjeev Rajput finished 58th, while Swapnil Kusale was 55th and Akhil Sheoran 44th. In the team event, the trio finished 11th.
On Thursday in Changwon, Asian Games gold medallist Saurabh Chaudhary won gold in the junior men’s 10m air pistol event.
Indigenous no-state people
Teenager Hriday Hazarika shoots gold at ISSF World Champions
