Teen Sensation Yugan Sakthivel Muthukumaar Captures Trap Gold at ISSF Junior World Cup

It was a moment that felt almost cinematic for the 15‑year‑old from Tamil Nadu. Yugan Sakthivel Muthukumaar stepped onto the final line in Porpetto, Italy, and in a breath‑holding eight‑shooter showdown, he sent 27 of 30 clay targets soaring. That one‑point edge over Italy’s Francesco Tanfoglio handed him the gold in the men’s trap, and, more importantly for India, secured the nation’s first medal of the competition.

Yugan hadn’t just waltzed into the final. Earlier in the day he qualified sixth with a solid 114 out of 125, then survived a tense shoot‑off to earn his spot among the eight finalists. It was a testament to his composure – a quality you rarely see in a teenager.

He wasn’t the only Indian hoping for a breakthrough. Fellow junior shooters Arjun and Vinay Pratap Singh Chandrawat finished 12th and 13th respectively, both tallying 112 points, while Udhav Singh Rathore landed 111, placing 16th. Though none reached the podium, their performances added depth to the Indian contingent.

On the women’s side, junior Asian champion Sabeera Haris was the lone Indian to make the final. After a clutch shoot‑off that lifted her to sixth in qualification with 108/125, she gave it her all in the medal round, hitting nine of 15. It wasn’t enough for a medal, but a respectable sixth‑place finish nonetheless. Bhavya Tripathi and Krishika Joshi just missed the cut, each scoring 105 and ending up ninth and tenth.

The tournament, the second junior ISSF World Cup of the year, follows an earlier stop in Cairo, Egypt, where India dominated the medal table with 16 medals – five gold, six silver and five bronze. The only shotgun success there was a mixed trap bronze for Zuhair Khan and Addya Katyal.

As the Porpetto meet draws to a close on Saturday with the mixed‑team trap final, Yugan’s triumph already feels like a harbinger of things to come for Indian shooting. A teenage gold‑medalist, a cool head under pressure, and a growing confidence that could well translate into future senior‑level glory.