ISSF Junior World Cup Rifle / Pistol / Shotgun · Sydney, AUS

The Chinese 19-year-old — gold medalist in 50m Pistol Men at last year’s ISSF Junior World Championship in Suhl (GER) — put the gold medal around his neck, closing with an impressive advantage on India’s silver medalist, Gaurav Rana.

After four days of competition at the Sydney International Shooting Centre — where the ISSF Junior World Cup is currently taking place — it’s already quite clear that India and the People’s Republic of China are going to be the two main protagonists.

In the 10m Air Pistol Men Junior event, indeed, Chinese shooter Wang Zhehao absolutely dominated the final, climbing atop the podium and securing gold with 242.5 points. The 19-year-old athlete also signed a new Junior World Record, sealing the match with a 8.6-point advantage on his closest rival.

Despite placing five shooters in the final, India missed the brightest medal and ended up with the silver-bronze combo secured by Gaurav Rana and Anmol Anmol.

Rana (18) nailed the best placement of his international career, placing 2nd with 233.9 points, while Anmol scored 215.1 and added a bronze medal to the silver he won at the ISSF Junior World Cup in Gabala (AZE) in 2016.

People’s Republic of China second and third final participant concluded at the feet of the podium, as 19-year-old Tang Sihao and 20-year-old Liu Jinyao respectively took 4th and 5th place. Tang scored 195.3 points — losing a tie-breaking shoot-off against Anmol at the 20th shot mark — and Liu finished with 173.2.

Three more Indian shooters placed at the bottom three positions of the match: 19-year-old Arjun Singh Cheema took 6th position with152.7 points, while Anhad Jawanda (19) placed 7th with 134.4 and Abhishek Arya finished in 8th place with 114.5.

India’s Cheema, Rana and Anmol also pocketed the team gold, preceding Liu, Wang and Tang — who claimed silver for the People’s Republic of China — and Jawanda, Arya and Adarsh Singh who won bronze for India.