New Delhi, May 26 (NationPress) In an impressive display, Tejaswini from India claimed the gold medal in the women's 25m pistol event on the final day of the International Shooting Sport Federation (ISSF) Junior World Cup held in Suhl. This remarkable achievement propelled India to the forefront of the medal rankings, surpassing fierce competitors like China.

This 20-year-old athlete from Haryana celebrated her first individual world cup medal, marking India's 11th medal of the competition, which includes three golds, alongside four silvers and four bronzes. While China secured three gold medals, they added only one bronze to their collection.

In the final, Tejaswini scored 31 points, outperforming Alina Nestsiarovich of the Individual Neutral Athletes (AIN) who secured silver with 29 points, while Hungary's Miriam Jako took home the bronze with 23 points.

Tejaswini's path to victory was remarkable; she started the day ranked 24th after the first day of qualification, where she achieved 282 out of a possible 300 points. In the subsequent rapid-fire round, she shot a solid 293, bringing her total score to 575, placing her fourth in a competitive field of 50.

She was the sole Indian to reach the top eight, while Riya Shirish Thatte, who had the highest overnight score, narrowly missed out with a total of 569 points.

As the final’s ten series of five rapid-fire shots commenced, Tejaswini quickly established herself with consecutive scores of four, competing closely with 16-year-old Zhao Taotao from China.

The competition intensified until the fifth series, where Tejaswini shot another four against Zhao’s one, effectively diminishing Zhao's challenge.

Despite pressure from challengers like Cheng Yen-Ching from Chinese Taipei, Tejaswini maintained her composure and executed her shots with remarkable precision, ultimately clinching the gold.

Other Indian performances included Naamya Kapoor finishing 18th with a score of 289, while reigning world champion Divanshi ended in 24th place with 564 points.

India has now dominated four of the last five ISSF Junior competitions, including the combined world cup in Suhl earlier this year and the junior world championships held in Lima.

The performance of the day also included Trap Mixed Team results with Vinay Chandrawat/Bhavya Tripathi scoring 133 for sixth place and Zuhair Khan/Sabeera Haris with 126 for fifteenth.