Shooting Beyond Borders: India’s Juniors Hit the International Mark

India’s junior shooting scene is buzzing with promise as young talents from every corner of the country make their mark at the ISSF Junior Shooting World Cup 2025, currently underway at the Karni Singh Shooting Range in New Delhi. With 69 Indian shooters competing against 206 global athletes, the event has spotlighted India’s growing grassroots strength in the sport.

Key highlights from the competition:
- Anushka Thokur, trained at Gagan Narang’s Gun For Glory academy, clinched gold in the women’s junior prone event with a score of 621.6. Teammates Anshika and Aadhya Agrawal followed with silver and bronze respectively
- In the men’s junior prone event, Deependra Singh Shekhawat from Rajasthan secured silver while Rohit Kanyan from Haryana took bronze. Gold went to neutral athlete Kamil Nuriakhmetov
- These performances come on the heels of India’s dominant showing at the Junior Asian Championships in Kazakhstan and the ISSF Junior World Cup in Suhl, Germany, where India topped the medal tally

Emerging stories behind the shooters:
- Rohit Kanyan was inspired by Neeraj Chopra’s Olympic gold and found his calling at a shooting academy in Karnal
- Shekhawat transitioned from swimming to shooting, now training in Jaipur
- Anushka’s journey began with balloon shooting in Bengaluru and led to national camp training under Olympian Sanjeev Rajput

With improved access to ranges, expert coaching, and a clear path laid by the National Rifle Association of India, shooting is fast becoming a pan-India phenomenon.

Sources: Hindustan Times, NRAI, Khel Now