India take two skeet bronzes but miss gold at Asian Games shooting in Nagoya
India secured bronze medals in both the men’s and women’s skeet team events at the Asian Games at the Aichi General Shooting Range in Nagoya on September 23, 2026, while two Indian finalists finished fourth and another placed eighth in the individual skeet competition.
The Aichi General Shooting Range produced multiple podium finishes for India on Wednesday, but not the top-tier medals the team had targeted, with the men’s and women’s skeet teams each claiming bronze and individual hopes falling short. Two of India’s three finalists in the skeet event — Anantjeet Singh Naruka and Raiza Dhillon — were eliminated in fourth place, and Parinaaz Dhaliwal ended eighth in the individual standings. The day also saw disappointments in pistol and shotgun qualifying, with Esha Singh and Suruchi Phogat failing to reach the shotgun final and Manu Bhaker finishing fifth in the 10m air pistol final.
In the skeet final, Anantjeet Singh Naruka missed two of his first four targets and finished with 25 out of 28, one shot behind bronze medallist Lee Meng-Yuan of Taiwan; Raiza Dhillon recorded 23 out of 28 while Parinaaz Dhaliwal was the first to be eliminated. Naruka’s early misses created a deficit he could not overcome in a final decided by very small margins.
The men’s team comprised Mairaj Ahmed Khan, Bhavtegh Gill and Anantjeet Singh Naruka, and they combined for a qualifying total of 346 across three days to finish behind Qatar on 353 and Kuwait on 348. That aggregate secured India the men’s skeet bronze on the podium at Aichi.
India’s women’s skeet trio of Raiza Dhillon, Parinaaz Dhaliwal and Maheshwari Chauhan posted a qualifying total of 331, placing them third behind China on 357 and Kazakhstan on 336 and earning India its first-ever Asian Games medal in women’s skeet. Commenting on the historic finish, Maheshwari said, “It’s a great feeling knowing that (we are the first) but I think the girls were in great form and I am really hoping we will go with a few more medals, a little disappointed it not being a better colour. I think it’s just a stepping stone for better podium finishes.”
Maheshwari also addressed broader issues in shotgun depth, saying, “I genuinely feel the reason (for shotgun taking a backseat) is because we just didn’t have high performing athletes and enough female athletes to begin with. “The shotgun crowd today is much younger and at a much higher technical quality and level, I do feel you are gonna see a lot more of shotgun doing better overall.”
In pistol qualifying Manu Bhaker scored 579 to finish third and progress to the final; Esha Singh posted series of 94 and 93 before registering 95 and 96 in her last two series to finish on 572 with 12x and miss the cut, while Suruchi Phogat recorded three series of 94 and one of 93 for a total of 568 with 12x to place 26th. In the 10m air pistol final, Manu began with a 9.9, ended with a 9.6, recorded just two 10.8s across her 18 shots and suffered an 8.9 on her eighth shot that pushed her into the elimination zone.
India’s search for a shooting gold at the Nagoya Asian Games continued after Wednesday’s events, with the two skeet bronzes and Manu Bhaker’s fifth place among the nation’s results at the Aichi General Shooting Range on September 23, 2026.