PUNE: Rudrankksh Patil clinched gold, while Abhinav Shaw bagged silver to give India a 1-2 finish in the Junior men’s 10m air rifle match at the ISSF Junior World Cup in Suhl, Germany, on Wednesday.
Competing for the top spot in the gold medal match, Rudrankksh pipped Abhinav 17-13 to top the podium. The bronze went to Nils Palberg of Germany.
The Indians qualified for the gold medal match after topping the final elimination stage. Rudrankksh scored 260.9, while Abhinav shot 257.7 to make the cut. The format has been implemented by the International Shooting Sport Federation (ISSF) for the first time in the juniors international level at Suhl. As per the new format, the shooters have to participate in the qualification round of 60 shots. The top-8 shooters then march to the first Elimination Stage, where they shoot 25 shots. The top-2 shooters make the cut for the gold medal match, while the third shooter gets bronze.
“Though the format is new at the international level, we shot our national trials in the same format. I was confident about the match and focused on my basics,” Rudrankksh, who lives and trains in Thane, told TOI.
Abhinav hails from Kolkata.
Rudrankksh, 18, is currently the top-ranked shooter in the youth, junior and senior categories of 10m air rifle event.
“Yes, being on top in three categories has boosted my confidence. I won a silver at the junior World Championships last year, and now I am looking forward to winning medals at the senior level,” Rudrankksh added.
