Palembang: Fifteen-year-old Shardul Vihan on Thursday became the youngest Indian shooter to win a medal at the Asian Games after he finished second in men’s double trap here, extending the sensational run of teenaged marksmen from the country.

The Meerut-based Vihan shot 73 in the final after topping the qualification earlier in the day. The gold went to 34-year-old South Korean Hyunwoo Shin and the bronze to 42-year-old Hamad Ali Al Marri from Qatar.

Vihan, a class X student of Dayawati Modi Academy in Modipuram, was unfazed by the presence of experienced shooters double his age. The bronze winner is almost triple his age. 

Sixteen-year-old Saurabh Chaudhary, who also has a Meerut connection, had made history by winning the gold in the 10m pistol here on Tuesday. Vihan’s silver was India’s eighth medal from the Jakabaring Shooting Range. 

Vihan took to shooting seriously only four years ago, under the tutelage of Shamli-based coach Anwar Sultan.

“The moment he came to me, I knew he would excel at whatever he does. Be it table tennis or badminton or any other sport. He has an amazing muscle memory. Now I will prepare him for the trap event,” said Sultan, looking at the future as double trap is no more an Olympic sport. 

His uncle Manoj Vihan, who is also here, revealed his punishing schedule. “He wakes up at five in the morning every day, goes to Karni Shooting Range (in Delhi) from Meerut, and comes back only by nine in the night. Imagine a 15-year-old doing all this,” said Manoj. 

“I won a shooting medal in 2014 at a North Zone meet. That was when I knew what I would be doing for a long time,” said a supremely confident Vihan, who only began with a shotgun and fell in love with it. 

He had a sensational 2017 when he amassed four national titles and the cherry on the cake was a medal at the ISSF Junior World Cup in Germany. 

India coach Mansher Singh had given Vihan a timely advice after he had played his daily round of PUBG, a shooting video game, with his friend and fellow shooter Lakshay Sheoran at the Games Village on Wednesday. “Sir ne bola, kal sab tere se badi umar ke honge. Chad ke khelna (all competitors will be a lot older to you, just shoot fearlessly). I just did that,” he said.

There were no signs of fatigue even though he was out in scorching sun for almost four hours, having topped the qualification earlier. “I was as fresh as ever,” said the shooter, who also likes to cook.

Can he make an omelette? “Of course. I can. I like to cook whenever I can,” added Vihan.

India’s other representation in men’s double trap, Ankur Mittal, did not make the final. Shreyasi Singh and Varsha Varman also disappointed, finishing sixth and seventh in women’s double trap. 

On Wednesday, Rahi Sarnobat became the first Indian woman shooter to clinch gold medal in the Asian Games. She overcame personal setbacks including her then coach's death and a manor injury to script history. 

Her personal coach Anatoli Piddubnyi died in 2015.  “Not only Rahi, we all felt bad after he died, as he was with us for three years and had almost become a family member. After Anatoli's death, we did not think of appointing a new coach for four months,” her father Jeevan Sarnobat said.

PTI