Abhinav Shaw, a young shooter from India, was warmly welcomed at the Asansol railway station after winning a gold and silver medal in the International Shooting Sport Federation (ISSF) Junior World Cup held in Suhl, Germany. The gold medalist expressed his elation upon receiving applause from the crowd, saying, “It was a nice experience. I had expected to win and I won, it felt nice.” Abhinav’s father was also full of pride, stating that he hoped his son would continue to bring glory to the country.
Abhinav Shaw teamed up with Gautami Bhanot to win India its second gold medal in the 10m Air Rifle Mixed Team event in Germany, triumphing over the French pair in a 17-7 match. India earned two more medals – a silver and a bronze – in the 10m Air Pistol Mixed Team event through the pairings of Sainyam and Abhinav Chaudhary and Suruchi Inder Singh and Shubham Bisla.
Sainyam, who previously won the individual women’s air pistol gold, and Abhinav topped the qualifying rounds with a combined score of 578. Suruchi and Inder finished fourth at 571 thereby advancing to the medal matches.
India‘s Saalim and Swati Chowdhury claimed seventh place in the Air Rifle Mixed Team event with a combined score of 624.3, while teammates Abhinav and Gautami qualified second with a score of 628.3.
Unfortunately, in the skeet competitions, Indians could not advance beyond the qualification rounds with Ritu Raj Bundela shooting 116 for a 19th-place finish, Abhay Singh Sekhon ending on a score of 115 to be placed 21st, Munek Batulla shooting 113 to be placed 26th, and Harmehar Lally scoring 111 to finish further back.
In the junior women’s skeet, Raiza Dhilon, had the highest score for India finishing with 108 points which landed her at 11th place, followed by Muffaddal Deesawala at 14th with 106 points, and Sanjana Sood at 16th place with 106 points.
Abhinav Shaw’s win, and those of his fellow team members, were celebrated as achievements for India in international competitions, and their efforts will inspire others in the country to take up the sport.
