Maheshwari Chauhan disappointed despite India’s first women's skeet Asian Games bronze

Maheshwari Chauhan, Raiza Dhillon and Parinaaz Dhaliwal won the women's skeet team bronze for India at the Asian Games on Wednesday, 23 September 2026, finishing third with a combined score of 331.

The result represented India's first women's skeet medal at the Asian Games, but Maheshwari, 30, said she was let down the team had not finished higher. "I'm a little disappointed about it (team medal) not being a better colour, but it's better to have finished on the podium," Maheshwari said. "It's the first medal for the skeet women at Asian Games ever."

The trio arrived in apparent strong form, with Maheshwari and Raiza both Olympians and Parinaaz described in the report as one of the younger names in India’s shotgun set-up. The composition combined experience and youth in a discipline where India had not previously reached the Asian Games podium.

Maheshwari framed the bronze as a stepping stone rather than an endpoint, saying of the squad's condition: "I think we're in great form," she said. "I'm really hoping that we'll go with a few more medals (from the Asian Games in men's and women's trap shooting). I think it's just a stepping stone for better podium finishes and better opportunities for better competition."

On the wider state of shotgun shooting in India, Maheshwari pointed to expanding depth and greater female participation. "I genuinely feel like that's been the reason because we just didn't have enough high-performing athletes and enough female athletes to begin with," she said. "And the level of competition that rifle has at a domestic level is unmatched."

She also highlighted a younger generation and improved technical standards within shotgun. "The shotgun crowd today is much younger and all of them are at a much higher technical quality and level," Maheshwari said, and credited enhanced training methods and support structures for the shift.

Maheshwari detailed changes in athlete preparation she has observed over her decade in the sport, saying: "The biggest advantage is just the level that the Indians are now starting their training at," she said. "I remember back when I started, the domestic level was not at a great level. We didn't have the right kind of technical training, nutritional training, psychological training." She added: "The results are better and they're only going to get better. The schemes are better. The entire infrastructure for sports is better in India," and noted: "I've been in the game for 10 years now. And for me, it's night and day."

Maheshwari’s season is now over after she missed selection for the World Championships; she plans to take a short break before starting the next Olympic cycle with the domestic season in December. The historic bronze, meanwhile, has given Indian women’s skeet a first Asian Games medal and a stronger platform for the next generation to build on.