Asian Games 2018: Meet Shardul Vihan, India’s 15-year-old silver medallist in double trap

All of 15, Shardul Vihan clinched the silver medal in the men’s double trap shooting event at the 18th Asian Games on Thursday in Indonesia.

Vihan shot 73 to claim the silver medal, while Korea’s 34-year-old Shin Hyunwoo clinched the gold medal with a score of 74. Qatar’s Al Marri Hamad Ali bagged the bronze after shooting 53 at the Jakabaring shooting range.

As a 14-year-old, Vihan had grabbed four gold medals at Shotgun Nationals Championship last year.

Coached by former Asian Championship double gold medallist Anwer Sultan, had finished a creditable sixth at the Junior World Championship in Moscow last year.

Here’s a brief description of Vihan’s impressive career so far.

Shardul Vihan

Date of Birth: January 11, 2003

Event at Asian Games: Men’s double trap

Past Asiad performance: N/A

Best performance so far: Gold, ISSF World Shotgun Championship in 2017 (Junior Team)
Gold, International Junior Grand Prix, Suhl in 2017

Brief Description: Shardul Vihan is a 15-year-old shooter who has put in some superb numbers in the last year to make the national team and now he’s in the limelight internationally after a Asian Games gold.

The teenager from Meerut, Uttar Pradesh, hit the headlines when he shot his way to four gold medals in a single day at the 61st National Shooting Championship in 2017. On the day, he bagged the gold in both the senior and junior men’s double trap individual and team event. In the men’s seniors, he got the better of world number one double trap shooter Ankur Mittal.

He is coached by former Asian Championship double gold medallist Anwer Sultan, after starting to compete in 2015.

In 2017, he was part of the Indian team that won the gold medal junior men’s double trap event at the ISSF World Shotgun Championship in Moscow. In the individual event, he finished sixth. He also won the gold in the International Junior Grand Prix, Suhl, Germany.