Inspired by Neeraj Chopra's Olympic Gold, 16-Year-Old Pritam Kendre Wins Junior World Air Rifle Title

In 2021, as Neeraj Chopra won India's first Olympic gold in athletics at the Tokyo Games, a young boy in Maharashtra watched with his father, notebook in hand. That boy, Pritam Kendre, then 13, was jotting down Olympic sports, narrowing his options. On Sunday, at 16, he became the men's 10m air rifle world champion at the ISSF World Junior Championships in Suhl, Germany.

Pritam's father, Tukaram Kendre, recalled the moment: 'When Neeraj Chopra won the Olympic title, Pritam was motivated to take up sports. He sat down with me and made a list of sports, choosing shooting. Before that, apart from studies, he loved watching cartoons like Shin Chan, Doraemon and Chota Bheem. As he won the world junior title today, I am sure Pritam will once again watch Neeraj's video and dream of winning an Olympic gold someday.'

Tukaram, then a car loan executive at a private bank, enrolled Pritam at Gagan Narang's Gun for Glory Academy in Pune. The family lived in Alandi village, 35 km away, and Pritam commuted daily by state transport bus. Last year, Tukaram left his job to work as a consultant, but recalled the financial strain: 'When I enrolled Pritam, my earnings were about Rs 25,000 per month. I paid Rs 15,000 for his training. It was tough. Later, he received scholarships. He spent over three hours on the bus daily but never complained.'

Pritam trained under coach Shubham Patil, who noted his natural focus. 'He started with a junior model rifle, but as he grew taller, we had to switch to a larger rifle. We worked on his start approach, sight focus, and adjustments due to his height. We also worked on his breathing patterns,' Patil said.

In Sunday's final, Pritam finished fifth in qualification. Another Indian, Piyush Sharma, was third. After the second series, Pritam was sixth, with Sharma leading. Sharma exited at fourth, but Pritam held his nerve to edge out neutral shooter Timofei Aleinikov. He shot 15 scores of 10.5 or above, including two 10.9s and two 10.8s.

National coach Veerpal Kaur praised his composure: 'Pritam kept his composure well in the final and shot consistently under high pressure. It was only his second international competition, but he showed no pressure. He believed he could come back, and he did.'