Suruchi Phogat and Kamaljeet win 10m air pistol mixed team gold at Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games

Suruchi Phogat and Kamaljeet won the 10m air pistol mixed team gold at the Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games in Japan on Friday, September 25, 2026. The victory gave India its second gold medal at the Asian Games 2026 and delivered a gold for Indian shooting on the sixth day of competition.

Both shooters were making their maiden continental appearance and said earlier individual disappointments fuelled their determination in the mixed event. Suruchi admitted, “Perhaps it wasn’t our day that day in individual events, and today was India’s day. I was really upset and sad after the individual event, I kept thinking what had happened and how.”

Suruchi said her poor individual score prompted reflection and recovery before the mixed final: “I had never expected to score so less — it was almost 20 below my average, it was unacceptable, specially in the qualifications. No, no, no. I don’t even remember when I shot so low. But when it happened, I realised something was wrong. I went back, slept, and then Samresh (Jung) sir said it wasn’t in our control and that there was another chance in the mixed team now. He keeps telling us that you are a true athlete only when you manage to go back up from being down.”

Kamaljeet, who had missed his final by a single point only a day before, described his emotional low and the turnaround that followed: “Yesterday I was sad the whole day, crying in my room. But then sir told me I was to shoot in the mixed team and it changed things, I thought I had another chance to go back with a medal. It is not difficult to be mentally ready, I want to shoot every day,” he declared.

Suruchi also outlined the numerical targets she had set and how closely she matched them: “I had targeted 295 in the qualification and I managed 296, so that was good. And for the final, I had thought of 246, I came close with 245.7 but the last time I managed this was at the National Games in Dehradun (2025) so it’s ok,” she smiled.

Suruchi had said she would reveal the targets to The Hindu after winning her first gold at these Games, and she kept her word by sharing the figures following the mixed team triumph.