Naruka and Dhaliwal recover from slow start to take India’s mixed-team skeet bronze at Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games

Anantjeet Singh Naruka and Parinaaz Dhaliwal recovered from a slow start to win bronze in the mixed-team skeet at the 20th Asian Games in Aichi-Nagoya on Thursday.

The duo posted a modest 44/50 in the opening qualification round but finished with a combined 138 to reach the four-team final, securing what the report describes as India’s first-ever medal in the Asian Games skeet mixed team event.

Reflecting on the turnaround, Naruka said: "We had a difficult start. Both of us didn't shoot well in the first round and then we just told each other that we can still get it. We have two more rounds to go and we will fight till the last target." His remarks outlined the pair’s decision to reset after early errors.

Dhaliwal described the same approach to pressure: "It was just about fighting till the very end. We were like, 'Let's just give it our all and then we'll see what happens after the third round,' and that's what we did." Naruka added emphasis on mutual support: "We were supportive and just kept telling each other that we have to fight. That's what a mixed team is, you know, that's how it's supposed to be."

Dhaliwal also highlighted the role of the coaching group and support staff in maintaining a positive mood while the medal remained uncertain, saying: "We were just having a really happy environment and we were just like, 'We are going to do this. We don't know how, but I know we will end up doing this.'"

For Naruka the Asian Games bronze supplemented previous career results cited in the report: an individual bronze at the World Cup Final in Delhi and a fourth-place finish at the Olympics. He contrasted those outcomes with the Asian Games podium, saying: "I think this one (Asian Games), because at the Olympics you are coming fourth but if you are not standing on the podium, it doesn't matter. Today we fought, we fought well and we got the bronze."

The mixed-team bronze increased the haul for Indian skeet across two days at the Games to three medals, and it left both Naruka and Dhaliwal with two medals each at these Asian Games; Naruka had earlier been part of the men's team that took bronze, while Dhaliwal had featured in the women's team that also reached the podium.

Naruka framed the result as motivation for others in the discipline, saying: "Of course, it's good motivation for other shooters as well. Last time I remember we got two medals in skeet, this time we have three, so we are very happy."