Bhowneesh Mendiratta wins two gold at Asian Shotgun Championships

Mendiratta qualified on top in the junior men’s trap with 116, then beating out Li Siwei of China 44-41 for the top spot.

Mendiratta qualified on top in the junior men’s trap with 116. (Representative Image)

Bhowneesh Mendiratta won two gold medals at the ninth Asian Shotgun Championships in Almaty, Kazakhstan, on Saturday, in the junior men’s trap and the team event.

Mendiratta, a student of Sri Venkateshwara College who lives in Faridabad, qualified on top in the junior men’s trap with 116, following rounds of 25, 21, 23, 24 and 23, then beating out Li Siwei of China 44-41 for the top spot.

Mendiratta, Vivaan Kapoor and Vishwa Kundu took the team gold. Kapoor and Kundu, too, made the finals of the junior men’s trap, but placed fourth and fifth, respectively. Kundu, in fact, shot shot 115 in qualification, the same as Li Siwei, whose compatriot Zhai Jiongyan took bronze.

Saturday’s performances were a welcome assertion by the Indian juniors in the absence of the senior team. Kirti Gupta won the individual gold in the junior women’s trap earlier and the girls won the team silver. Earlier, Indian juniors had won two individual skeet bronze medals and a team silver.

The competition will continue with the mixed trap event on Sunday.

The results: Junior men: 1. Bhowneesh Mendiratta 44 (116); 2. Li Siwei (Chn) 41 (115); 3. Zhai Jiongyan (Chn) 30 (110); 4. Vivaan Kapoor 25 (110); 5. Vishwa Kundu 22 (115). Team: 1. India 341; 2. China 322; 3. Kuwait 288.