Himanshu Dhillon credits Virat Kohli and support team after twin silvers at Asian Games 2026

Indian shooter Himanshu Dhillon won silver medals in the men’s 10m air rifle individual and team events at the Asian Games 2026 in Aichi-Nagoya on September 24, 2026, and said Indian cricketer Virat Kohli was a major source of inspiration for his career.

The 20-year-old had entered the Games on a run of domestic and junior international success, having partnered Ramita Jindal to gold in the 10m air rifle mixed team at the National Shooting Championship 2025 in Bhopal and taken a gold and a bronze at the ISSF Junior World Cup 2025. In July 2026 he earned his first senior international medal, a bronze in the 10m air rifle mixed team at the ISSF World Cup with Sonam Maskar. Dhillon carried that momentum into the Asian Games, helping India open its medal account in the shooting discipline.

Asked about influences on his ascent, Dhillon said he admired Kohli’s dedication and wanted to emulate his approach. “I started watching his videos, but now I see that his reports are very similar to mine. He has a lot of dedication and is very natural when it comes to his game,” Dhillon said. “He is on his feet, out of his feet, down to earth; it feels good to see that he supports people a lot. So, I was also inspired by that. I also wanted to become like Virat Kohli.”

Dhillon credited mental preparation for his composure in Aichi-Nagoya and highlighted the work of sports psychologist Shivam Dwivedi. “My psychologist, Mr Shivam Dwivedi, worked very well with me. He used to give me different tasks every day. He told me that I have to push my mind in this way and shared his experience with me,” he said while answering a query from Khel Now.

He described coordinated work between Dwivedi and his coach, Pooja Ghatkar, aimed at managing pressure in finals and maintaining focus on the last shot. “He [Dwivedi] coordinated very well with her, and both of them worked very hard on my final play process, so that I could focus on the toughest situations, like anxiety in the last shot; how to stay in the present and how to focus on my shot,” he articulated. “They made me work very hard on that, and their hard work has brought a lot of colours. I would like to thank them from the bottom of my heart.”

Dhillon said he dedicated his Asian Games silver to his parents and to the support staff around him. “I wanted to do as much as I could for my countrymen and my parents. I wanted to win as many medals as I could for my country. This is what I wanted to do for them.” He also added: “I would like to dedicate it [the silver medal] to my parents. They are the ones who work so hard for their children. I would like to dedicate it to them.”

Recalling his early sporting choices, Dhillon said he tried wrestling briefly before switching to shooting after finding a range at his Gurukul. “I did wrestling for a short period of time, only for 12 or 14 days. At the age of 20, the family, coaches, and the team behind it have a big effect on the atmosphere. It is built mentally,” he noted. Explaining the move away from wrestling, he said: “I did not play wrestling. At that time, I was not physically fit. I was not able to do wrestling, speed, or other techniques. It was very tough for me. After that, I left wrestling.”

Dhillon described the financial challenges his agricultural family faced in supporting a shooting career and the gradual commitment that followed. “It was expensive. There were a lot of challenges, like whether my father would be able to do it or not,” he said. “I told him that this is how it works. In Haryana, we made a strong decision to start shooting. Slowly, we got our small hopes. We kept working with our family.”

Dhillon closed by underlining the value he places on routine and self-talk as foundations of performance, urging others to remain focused on practice. “We mostly follow the process and our normal routine. We try to focus on being normal with everyone and work hard as much as possible, and do more self-talk,” he said. “When you have worked hard with your heart, it brings that colour. So, follow your practice or routine with full dedication.”

Dhillon’s twin silver medals in the men’s 10m air rifle individual and team events contributed to India’s shooting medal tally at the Asian Games 2026.