Asian Games 2026: India's Skeet Teams In Medal Contention After Day One

The Indian women's shooting trio of Raiza Dhillon, Maheshwari Chauhan and Parinaaz Dhaliwaal ended day one of the women's skeet team competition at the ongoing Asian Games in Aichi-Nagoya on Monday in third place, putting them in bronze-medal position. With two days of the competition still left, India is in third place with a score of 132 after two rounds, with China (143) and Kazakhstan above them. Raiza finished the day in ninth place with a score of 46 after two rounds, with Parinaaz (44 points) and Maheshwari (42 points) at 14th and 16th place individually as they aim to reach the individual final as well. On the other hand, the men's skeet shooting trio of Anant Jeet Naruka, Mairaj Khan and Bhav Tegh Singh Gill ended at the sixth spot with two more days of competition left.

Indian men's skeet team ended day one at the sixth spot with 136 points, behind Qatar (145 points), Chinese Taipei and Kazakhstan (143 points), Kuwait (140 points) and South Korea (138 points). Naruka (21st with a score of 47), Mairaj (26th with a score of 45) and Bhavtegh (27th with a score of 44) will be aiming to climb up during the next two days of the competition. 

Also earlier, Indian shooters Himanshu Dhillon and Rudrankksh Patil clinched silver and bronze medals, respectively, in the men's 10m air rifle individual event at the Asian Games, as China's Sheng Lihao secured the gold medal in a closely fought final on Monday.

Rudrankksh started strongly and took the early lead after the opening series, scoring 52.8. He extended his advantage with a superb 53.2 in the second series to move 1.1 points clear at the top.

Himanshu also remained firmly in medal contention and briefly moved into second place as the competition intensified. After 12 shots, Rudrankksh led with 127.4, followed by Himanshu on 126.6 and Sheng on 126.3.

The contest remained extremely close through the middle stages. Sheng eventually moved into the lead after 16 shots, with 168.8, while Rudrankksh and Himanshu were tied on 168.6.

Himanshu responded with a sensational 10.9 and moved to within 0.1 of Rudrankksh, but a 9.8 on his next shot saw him drop to third. He recovered with a 10.6 to stay in medal contention.

Sheng maintained his advantage and extended his lead to one point after 20 shots, while Rudrankksh was second on 210.6 and Himanshu third on 210.0.

The final stages produced a dramatic finish for the Indian pair. Rudrankksh was eliminated after 22 shots, finishing on 230.9, just 0.1 behind Himanshu's 231.0. His 9.7 in the preceding shot proved costly as he settled for bronze.

Himanshu then faced Sheng in the final two-man battle for gold. Both shooters recorded 10.6 with their final shots, but Sheng finished on 233.0 to claim gold, while Himanshu took silver with 231.0.

The result gave India a silver and bronze double in the men's 10m air rifle individual event, with both Himanshu and Rudrankksh finishing on the podium.

India's day two report got off to a fine start, as a trio of Rudrankksh Patil, Parth Mane and Himanshu Dhillon secured a silver medal in the men's 10 m air rifle team event.

Team India managed a silver with a score of 1890.1, short of first-place China's 1899.0. The bronze medal went to South Korea, with a score of 1841.4. This marks their third medal of the Asian Games 2026, all of them silver medals coming in shooting. 

Rudrankksh Patil finished third and Himanshu Dhillon seventh to qualify for the men's 10m air rifle individual final. Parth Mané finished 11th during the men's 10 m air rifle qualifying event, which acted as a team final too. Rudrankksh and Himanshu booked their tickets to the final.

(This story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)

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