Gen-next Olympic Shooters Feted by NRAI for Stupendous Showing at ISSF Junior Cup

New Delhi, 16 July 2015: The Indian Junior Shooting squad, aptly termed ‘Gen-next Olympic Shooters’, which finished a creditable fourth in the medal standings of the recently concluded 2^nd ISSF Junior Cup in Suhl, Germany, were feted at a function organized at the FICCI auditorium here by the National Rifle Association of India (NRAI). A total of 572 athletes from 44 nations participated in the competition, billed as the ‘Junior Shooting World Cup’. The medal winners were presented with certificates and cash rewards for their performance, which was a shot in the arm for the two-year old junior programme mooted by the NRAI, as in the space of just one year, the team moved up from ninth position in 2014 to fourth this year. In the pistol section of the tournament, the Indian squad finished an excellent second. They returned with a total of 14 medals, three of them being Gold, up from three in the previous year.

Mr. Raninder Singh, President, NRAI, was clearly delighted on the occasion and said, “These boys and girls are the future of Indian Olympic shooting and their performance gives all of us a lot of heart that Indian shooting is on the right track. To perform this well at such a high level of competition away from home at such a young age, proves that our talent, given the right support and exposure are second to none. We would once again like to thank the Government of India, the Sports Authority of India and FICCI for continued support to the junior programme.”

Junior shooters who had won medals at the preceding Shooting Hopes tournament held in Plezn, Czech Republic were also awarded on the occasion, along with shooters who made it to finals. Pistol shooter Shivam Shukla, who won a total of four Gold and two Silver medals, including two individual Golds at the ISSF Junior Cup, was the star of the show.

Other notable performances included that of Achal Pratap Singh who returned with a total of four medals including two Golds, Arjun Das with three medals (one Gold). Notable performances also came from the likes of Akhil Sheoran who won a Silver in the 50m Rifle 3 Positions event at the Junior Cup along with three other medals, Sumedh Kumar who won a Silver in the 50m Pistol and Anantjeet Singh Naruka who won a bronze in Skeet at the Junior Cup.

Among the women, Gauri Sheoran and Shreya Gawande with four medals each including three Silvers and Yashaswani Singh Deswal with a total of three medals were the standout performers.