He will compete in junior level in 2025 but will graduate to senior level in 2026 as it features Asian Games, says his Adriyan’s father Joydeep Karmakar

Promising rifle shooter Adriyan Karmakar on Tuesday announced himself on the big international stage with a silver medal in men 50m rifle prone event in ISSF Junior World Cup in Suhl, Germany.

Adriyan, son of Olympian Joydeep Karmakar, shot an impressive 626.7 after 60-shots to make it to the podium and hand India its first medal in Suhl. The 20-year-old has represented India in juniors at the world championships before but this is his first world cup appearance. Adriyan shot with confidence and set a new junior national record.

Joydeep is a proud father. One of India’s finest rifle shooters, Joydeep won gold at the 2010 Commonwealth Games and silver in ISSF World Cup and came close to winning an Olympic medal in London 2012 finishing fourth in 50m rifle prone.

“His (Adriyan) performance at Suhl World Cup is a national record and that indicates it is time to graduate to the senior level from 2026 that will feature Asian Games,” Joydeep told Sportsbackstory.com over the phone from Kolkata.

Joydeep now plays a pivotal role as coach and wants his son, who has shown early potential to excel at elite international level, to spend some more time at junior level. “Shooters can compete in age groups till 21. A few more international competitions would help him get used to the highly competitive environment before he switches to senior level from next year,” Joydeep added.

A young Adriyan would accompany his father to the shooting range. When he was just seven, he decided to follow in his father’s footsteps and tested his eye-hand coordination at the ranges. “He started with an air rifle and gradually shifted to a more demanding 50m,” recalled Joydeep.

At 13 he first tested his endurance at the small-bore range “Genetically he was strong and could adapt to the regimen of prone rifle practice,” Joydeep explained.

Adriyan has been making waves at domestic junior events. At the Kumar Surendra Singh Memorial Shooting Championship in Delhi recently, Adriyan won bronze in junior men’s 3p final. He represented India at the 2022 Junior World Shooting Championships, and the Asian Championships in 2023, where he finished a creditable 6th.

The talented Kolkata rifle shooter has now started to find his feet at international level. He won team silver at 2024 Junior Asian Championships and team gold at World University Shooting competition last year in Delhi.

Sweden’s Jesper Johansson won first place while Griffin Lake of the USA was third in Suhl.

India is fielding a big contingent of 57 shooters at the ISSF Junior World Cup (Rifle/Pistol/Shotgun) in Suhl. The competition runs from May 20-26.

Suhl, a small city of no more than 40,000 residents right in the center of Germany, has long been the driving force of the junior international shooting circuit and as such, attracts the very best of the future stars in the sport. Many future Olympic and world champions have been unearthed in Suhl.

This year, 630 athletes from 59 countries, including all the strong nations of the sport, are participating at the junior world cup.

India emerged on top of the Suhl Junior World Cup in 2023 with a tally of six gold, six silver and three bronze medals and hopes are high this time too.

Besides Adriyan, Rohit Kanyan, 15, the second Indian shooter in fray at Suhl World Cup finished 12th with a score of 620.2. Vedant Nitin Waghmare, the third Indian finished down the ladder with 614.4 points.

Adriyan’s journey will be keenly followed as he continues to rise through the ranks of international shooting.