Gold rush! Manu Bhaker-Anmol win mixed air pistol gold at junior WC

It is India's seventh gold medal at the ISSF Junior World Cup in Sydney.

Manu Bhaker and Anmol (Photo: ISSF Twitter)

Sydney: The duo of Manu Bhaker and Anmol secured India's seventh gold medal in the ISSF junior World Cup by winning the mixed 10m air pistol event with a qualification world record here on Tuesday.

Genemat Sekhon bagged an individual bronze medal in the junior women's skeet, shooting a 36 in the final.

In the mixed 10m air rifle event, 17-year-old Shreya Agrawal and 19-year-old Arjun Babuta finished on the podium with a third place bagging 432.8 points, while their country-mates Elavenil Valarivan Elavenil (18) and Tejas Krishna Prasad (20) finished fourth with 389.1.

Bhaker and Anmol dominated the event from the very start and entered the final with the highest qualification score and a new junior qualification world record.

They finished with a 5.6 advantage on their closest rivals, China's Liu Jinyao and Li Xue.

The two Indian youngsters dominated the final from the very first series, progressively building a gap between them and their closest rivals. They eventually finished with 478.9 points, just 1.8 points away from the current world record.

The silver and bronze medals were both awarded to China, as Liu Jinyao (20) and Li Xue (18) finished in second position with 473.3 points, while Wang Zhehao (19) and Xiao Jiaruixuan (15) took third place with 410.7.

A second Indian team, comprising 18-year-old Gaurav Rana and 19-year-old Mahima Turhi Agrawal had to leave the final at the 38th-shot mark with 370.2 points. The duo ended up in fourth position.

Finishing 11.2 points away from the fifth place because of a dry-fire shot, and also suffering a 1.0-point reduction, Australia's Hans Ben Hummer (18) and Sascha Kroopin (16) took the sixth place with a final score of 320.9.

Overall, India occupy the second place with 18 medals, including seven gold, while China continued to lead the tally with 22 podium finishes, including eight gold medals.