ISSF World Shooting Championship: Udhayveer Sidhu bags Gold in Junior Men’s 25m Pistol

Indian shooter Udhayveer Sidhu on Thursday bagged a Gold medal in the Junior Men’s 25m pistol final at the 52nd World Shooting Championship in Changwon, Korea. 

The 16-year-old scored 587 (291 in precision and 296 in rapid) to grab the yellow metal ahead of Henry Leverett (584) of America and Korea’s Lee Jae-kyoon (582) in the final. Sidhu’s twin brother Vijayveer Sidhu shot a score of 581 to settle at the fourth position. Fellow countryman Rajkanwar Singh Sandhu (568) finished at the 20th spot.  

The trio's combined score of 1736 fetched the team gold for India followed by China, which totalled 1730. The bronze medal went to Team Korea, which shot a score of 1721. 

Udhayveer, in partnership with Vijayveer and Rajkanwar had also won a gold in the 25m pistol team event. The trio had scored 1736 to finish on top. China (1730) and Korea (1721) clinched the silver and bronze medals respectively.  

The Indian contingent is ranked fourth in the medals table with a total of 24 medals (nine gold, eight silver and seven bronze medals). This is India’s best-ever medal haul in the International Shooting Sport Federation’s tournament.  

(With PTI inputs)