Sixteen-Year-Old Pritam Kendre Wins Men's 10m Air Rifle Gold At ISSF Junior World Championship 2026

A sixteen-year-old from Pune achieved a major world title. Pritam Kendre claimed the gold medal in the men's 10m air rifle event at the ISSF Junior World Championship 2026 in Suhl, Germany, on Sunday, shooting 251.3 in the eight-man final to finish ahead of neutral athlete Timofei Aleinikov in silver and Norway's Jens Oestli in bronze. This achievement is even more impressive and remarkable is that this was only his second international tournament. He had just finished his Class 10 board exams before heading to Germany, and came back a world champion.

Kendre was not among into the final as the top qualifier, but significantly, He had finished the fifth set in the qualification round with a score of 628.2; meanwhile, his Indian teammate Piyush Sharma also had qualified third with 629.0. Both made it through to the eight-man final, and that is where Kendre took over completely. He stayed calm, kept his technique tight throughout the play, and built a score of 251.3 that nobody in the field could match. Sharma came way closer to finishing off on his own but missed out on a medal by just 0.1 points after the fourth elimination round, resulting in finishing fourth. India's team event hopes in the men's 10m air rifle were unfortunately ended before the final had even begun, when the third member of the team, Abhinav Shaw, was disqualified in qualification after his equipment failed to meet ISSF's regulations. The women's 25m pistol team of Anjali Bhagwat, Parisha Gupta, and Nithila Christopher also contributed significantly to India's medal tally on the same day, winning a bronze medal in their event. India now has eleven medals at this championship, including five gold.

Speaking after his win, Kendre kept things simple. "I am extremely happy with this victory. My only focus throughout the competition was on my technique and giving my best in every shot," he said.

Kindred thanked Gagan Narang for Glory Shooting Academy in Pune for helping him develop as a strong shooter. He also said that the coaches had closely guided him throughout his journey and spent tremendous time helping him learn and grow his skills. So, according to Kindre, this training at the Academy focused heavily on redefining his shooting skills and techniques, which played a specific role in his success today.

"Winning a world championship gold has given me immense confidence. I want to continue improving in the 10m air rifle event and win many more medals for India in the years ahead," he added.

The ISSF Junior World Championship 2026 runs until June 26, meaning that India still has more events to focus on and more medal opportunities are ahead at this same competition. The championship has drawn over 800 shooters from 70 national federations, within which India is fielding a large 84-member contingent.

India delivered an excellent performance at the previous edition of the championship in Lima, Peru, in 2024, with the top medal standings with 24 medals, including 13 golds. The team's performance in Suhl suggests that the country is doing well, and it plays to mount another strong challenge before this year's competition comes to an end.

Sportscape feels that for Kendre personally, this gold medal at just sixteen and in only his second international tournament marks the kind of beginning that Indian shooting's next generation is built on, and the sport will be watching closely to see how quickly he makes the step up to senior competition.