Suruchi Phogat and Kamaljeet win 10m air pistol mixed team gold, set Asian Games record in Nagoya

Suruchi Phogat and Kamaljeet won the 10m air pistol mixed team gold at the Aichi General Shooting Range in Nagoya on September 25, 2026, ending India’s wait for a shooting gold at the Asian Games. The pair also established a new Asian Games record with a combined final score of 484.6 points.

Both shooters had produced ordinary results in their individual events but recovered as a pairing to claim gold and the record. Suruchi led the qualifying with a series of 99, 97 and a perfect 100 to total 296 — the highest qualifying score — while Kamaljeet posted 291 to progress alongside her.

In the final, Suruchi again scored strongly, accumulating 245.7 points by repeatedly recording high 10s, and Kamaljeet contributed 238.9; their combined 484.6 proved sufficient to secure the title and the Games mark. Suruchi’s consistency from the start of qualifying through the final was highlighted as a key factor in India staying ahead during the contest.

The mixed team gold provided a measure of relief for India’s shooting contingent on the sixth day, after several earlier setbacks in Nagoya. India had already lost three of the seven golds it won in shooting at the previous Asian Games, and while Friday’s victory offset some of those losses it was noted that the 22-medal haul from Hangzhou now looks a far shot.

India’s campaign in the men’s 50m 3-position team event produced a silver medal rather than a successful defence of the title. Aishwary Pratap Singh Tomar, who is the joint owner of the qualifying Games record of 591, scored 589 in the event; teammates Niraj Kumar and Rudrankksh Patil shot 588 and 585 respectively for a combined team total of 1762, four points adrift of China.

Tomar and Niraj underperformed in the individual 50m 3-position event, finishing fifth and eighth respectively. Tomar struggled to find rhythm across all three positions, with several shots reduced to nines and round scores of 102.9 in kneeling and 102.4 in prone in the first two rounds, leaving him 3.2 points behind eventual champion Liu Yukun at that stage.

Liu Yukun went on to win the men’s 50m 3-position gold and set a new Games record, with Zhang Changhong taking the silver. Friday’s mixed team gold for Suruchi and Kamaljeet offered immediate consolation, but India’s ability to replicate the 22 medals achieved in Hangzhou was described in the report as now looking unlikely.