5 junior Indian shooters who could be future stars

The Indian shooting scene in recent times has provided many a supporter with plenty to cheer. The senior squad will take its largest ever contingent to the Olympics and last week the junior also gave a lo to be hopeful about for the future.

Here’s a look at 5 junior shooters who could carry the rich shooting tradition forward:

1.Gaaythri Nithyanadam

Without the doubt the most impressive Indian junior shooter on display, Gaayathri Nithyanadam won a medal, both in the individual as well as the team event. The 19-year-old clinched the bronze medal in the 50m Rifle 3 Position event and was part of the three-member team that won the Gold in the team event as well.

The 19-year-old has certainly come a long way since finishing a disappointing 18th at the Junior World Championships last year and will hope to put in many such impressive performances like the one in Germany last week, thereby further raising her stakes in the circuit.

2.Rituraj Singh

Another emerging shooter, this time in the Pistol category is Rituraj Singh, who was part of the team that won gold in the 25m Standard Pistol category, edging out France by a mere 2 points to take home the top prize.

The 19-year-old, who is an air force shooter won the silver medal last year with a score of 559, but this time went all the way with a shoot-off deciding who took home the yellow medal.

The Assam-born shooter is a big fan of Jitu Rai, who he says helped him understand the importance of getting rid of the fear from his mind.

Jitu has thus far won 5 World Cup medals in his career and Rituraj will be hoping that as his career proceeds further he can equal, if not, go past his idol.

3.Yashaswini Singh Deswal

If Nithyanadam was a bright spot for India in the rifle category, then Yashaswini Singh Deswal provided a glimpse of the talent she possesses in the pistol event, by winning the silver medal in the Women’s 10m Air Pistol event at the Junior World Cup last week.

The 19-year-old was also a part of the team that won the silver in the 10m Air Pistol team event after finishing with a tally of 1122 points, finishing 7 points behind Germany who took home the Gold.

Deswal had given the shooting fraternity a peek into her potential at the 2014 Asian Shooting Championships where she had won the silver in the Air Pistol category and only enhanced her reputation further at the World Cup last week.

The Panchkula-based shooter also got an opportunity to train alongside the likes of Abhinav Bindra in Delhi and will hope to impress the shooting fraternity in the upcoming competitions.

4.Shivam Shukla

Another emerging star in the pistol category is Shivam Shukla, who was also a part of the squad that won the silver in the 25m Standard Pistol category at the World Cup in Suhl last week.

The 19-year-old has had a good last 12 months, wherein he has won a double gold in both the individual as well as team events in the Junior World Cup last year, beating fellow countrymen Rituraj Singh by a solitary point in the former.

This may be early days for the Indian as far as his junior shooting career is concerned, but there is no doubting if he does continue to put in good performances, consistently then his stakes will only rise further in the shooting circle.

5.Achal Pratap Singh Grewal

He may not have had the most fruitful of World Cups, but Achal Pratap Singh Grewal is certainly a promising prospect to watch out for the future.

The Punjab-based shooter won the gold in the 25m Pistol event at the Shooting Hopes competition last year and prior to that won a whopping 13 medals at the National Shooting competition in the junior and senior category.

It is hoped that he replicates that form into World Cups as well soon.