Dehradun: Jonathan Gavin Anthony was busy watching his favourite cartoon show – Oggy and the cockroaches – after qualifying for the final of the 10m air pistol final on Sunday. On Monday morning, the 15-year-old from Karnataka turned up in the final, causing the biggest upset of the National Games shooting competition.
Making light of a strong field that included Paris Olympics medallist Sarabjot Singh, Jonathan calmly shot 240.7 in the final, becoming the youngest pistol champion at the Games. Ravinder Singh of Services took silver (240.3) and the seasoned Gurpreet Singh (220.1) bronze. Sarabjot, who won the air pistol mixed team bronze with Manu Bhaker in Chateauroux, came fourth.
In the qualification, Jonathan pipped Tokyo Olympian Saurabh Chaudhary on a countback to take the eighth and last final spot. Both shot 578 and had the same number of inner 10s, but Jonathan with a better final series went through. “I was nervous to start in the final with so many top shooters and my first shot was 9.1. But then I got the focus back and shot better,” the teenager said.
His mother Ancy, who is travelling with him, introduced Jonathan to shooting in 2022 after the boy had tried his hand at several sports. Ancy, who was a college-level shooter, wanted her son to take up the sport. “I wanted him to do shooting. I was doing rifle shooting in college. He was into skating, gymnastics, chess, football. He loves skating and football. I wanted him to take up an individual sport,” says Ancy, who works in a MNC.
“He is enjoying himself. I was worried the night before the final but he downloaded some cartoons and kept watching. Right now it’s fun; the day he gets into the seriousness he will know but it is a big moment for us.”
The pistol prodigy wants to make it to the team for the junior world championships. He has competed in Khelo India, junior nationals and other domestic events. The gold medal here has given him a great start to the season as he prepares for the selection trials next.
“My class 10 board exams are also starting, so I have to prepare. I will go to Bengaluru and come back to Delhi for the trials. I want to compete at the 2028 Olympics,” says Jonathan, who is coached by KY Sharandra at the Hawkeye academy in Bengaluru.
