New Delhi: India’s Adriyan Karmakar clinched a bronze medal in the men’s 50m rifle 3 positions (3P) event at the ISSF Junior World Cup on Friday, maintaining India’s position at the top of the medal standings. This marked Karmakar’s second medal of the tournament, following his silver in the 50m rifle prone event earlier in the week.
The 20-year-old, making his World Cup debut, finished with a score of 446.6 in the final. France’s Romain Aufrere, an Olympian and former prone junior world champion, secured gold, while two-time prone junior world champion Jens Oestli of Norway claimed silver with 459.1.
Strong Qualification, Gritty Final
Karmakar qualified for the 45-shot final with a score of 588, placing fourth among 55 shooters. Romain and Jens entered the final ranked first and third, respectively.
During the initial stages of the final—covering the Kneeling and Prone positions—Karmakar hovered around 13th and 14th position. However, he delivered a crucial streak of eight consecutive 10s, bridging the gap with the leaders heading into the Standing segment.
With the field narrowing after the 40th shot elimination, Karmakar trailed Sweden’s Jesper Johansson—a junior world medallist—by just 0.5 points. He then fired a 10.8, followed by a 10.6, to leap ahead of Jesper. A 10.2 on his 43rd shot was enough to secure bronze, despite Jesper’s strong 10.7 in his final attempt.
The performance capped a remarkable debut for Karmakar, who also set a new junior national record in the prone event earlier in the competition.
Anoushka Thokur Misses Podium in Women’s 3P
In the junior women’s 50m rifle 3P event, 17-year-old Anoushka Thokur, also on her World Cup debut, showed promise but ultimately finished seventh. After staying in medal contention for much of the final, she was eliminated following the 40th shot, tied with Czech Republic’s Barbora Dubska, who edged her out in a shoot-off. Thokur finished with a score of 405.2.
The event saw the Jaeggi sisters from Switzerland, Vivien Joy and Emely, claim gold and silver respectively, while Xu of China took bronze.
Medal Tally Update
After three days of competition, India leads the medal standings with:
1 Gold, 2 Silver, 1 Bronze
So far, nine gold medals have been distributed among nine different countries, including one awarded to the group of Individual Neutral Athletes (AIN).
With seven more events left in the tournament—including men’s and women’s air rifle and men’s 25m rapid-fire pistol scheduled for Saturday—India will look to continue its strong showing.
