Rashmika Sahgal's sacrifices pay off, shoots gold and silver

It has taken enormous sacrifice for young Rashmika Sahgal, a class 12th student at the Loreto Convent, Delhi Cantt, to realise her dream of a gold and silver at the Junior World Cup Shooting that is underway at the Dr Karni Singh Shooting Ranges in the Capital.

Rashmika had won silver in the 10 metre air pistol individual event on Friday and she followed it up with a gold in the 10 metre air pistol team event on Saturday.  She paired up with Kapil to defeat compatriots Jonathan Gavin Antony and Vanshika Chaudhary 16-10 in the gold medal clash.

Spain’s Ines Castro Ortega and Lucas Sanchez Tome won bronze with a narrow 16-14 win over Iran’s Parimah Amiri and Mohammadreza Ahmadi.

“I have left a lot of things to balance studies and shooting. My friends have parties, are hooked to mobiles and attend gatherings. But I have given up on all of them. I haven’t seen TV and haven’t gone out with friends for the last three years. I don’t have a smartphone, I use only the small Nokia phone,” said Rashmika, who got inspired after watching a video of Manu Bhaker, the 2024 Paris Olympic double medallist.

“When I started shooting, my father showed me Manu’s video and I found that her and my background are quite similar. She also plays a lot of sports and that inspired me.”

Rashmika, who began shooting three years ago, is coached by her father who works in the army and is posted in Delhi.

“I play badminton for focus. When the shuttle goes up and you have to keep an eye on it, it helps in focussing.”

Silver, bronze for India in skeet

The women’s Skeet event final saw World Championship silver-medallist Arianna Nember of Italy hit 53 targets on way to gold.

India’s Olympian Raiza Dhillon pushed her close with 51 for silver, while reigning Asian champion Mansi Raghuwanshi added bronze for host with 41, having earlier topped qualification with 117.

USA’s 14-year-old Chloe Chaleunsinh finished fourth with 32. Agrima Kanwar of India ended in sixth place which was the last.

In men’s skeet, Italy’s Marco Coco carried his qualification form (122) into the junior men’s final, shooting 56 hits from 60 targets to win gold. Finland’s Lassi Akseli Matias Kauppinen claimed silver with 53 hits, while Cyprus’s Andreas Pontikis took bronze with 43.

India’s Harmehar Singh Lally (35 hits) and Atul Singh Rajawat (25 hits) were eliminated in fourth and fifth place respectively.

Other Indians in action

Skeet Junior Men Qualification

Jyotiraditya Singh Sisodiya – 116 (13th)

Yashvardhan Singh Rajawat – 113 (18th)

Ishaan Singh Libra – 109 (26th)

Tags : Rashmika Sahgal, ISSF, Shooting, Delhi, Jonathan Gavin Antony