India scripts history with first-ever mixed team skeet medal at Asian Games 2026
(Courtesy :Â NRAI)
The Indian pair finished third in the final with a total score of 44
India’s Anantjeet Singh Naruka and Parinaaz Dhaliwal have created a new chapter in the country’s shooting history by winning the bronze medal in the mixed team skeet event at the Asian Games 2026, held in Nagoya, Japan.
This is India’s first-ever medal in this particular category, and it came just a day after both shooters had already claimed bronze medals with their respective men’s and women’s teams on Wednesday.
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The Indian pair finished third in the final with a total score of 44, having progressed steadily through all six series of the competition. Their scores read 7, 14, 21, 29, 36, and finally 44.
China took home the gold medal with 52 points, while South Korea settled for silver with 51 points after a tense seventh series of shots.
Interestingly, South Korea was also tied with India at 44 points at one stage, but India secured the bronze on the basis of a better qualification round ranking.
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Naruka and Dhaliwal had booked their spot in the final by finishing fourth in the qualification round, where they posted a combined score of 138 which was enough to claim the last available berth.
Qatar had actually topped the qualification round with 145 points, ahead of South Korea (143) and China (140), but the team faltered in the final and dropped to fourth place.
A family legacy and a rising star
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The 28-year-old Naruka hails from Jaipur and was drawn into the sport by his father, Dalpat Singh Naruka, who himself represented India as a skeet shooter.
He made his international debut back in 2014 at the Asian Shotgun Championship in Al Ain, UAE, and continues to train under his father along with Italian coach Riccardo Filippelli.
Naruka already has a silver and a bronze to his name from the 2023 Asian Games in Hangzhou, was part of India’s contingent at the Paris Olympics 2024, and won gold at the 2025 Asian Shotgun Championship in Shymkent.
Dhaliwal, 24, comes from Patiala and originally trained in trap shooting before switching to skeet in 2015 at the New Moti Bagh Gun Club. Her first international medal came in 2022 at the ISSF Junior World Cup in Suhl, Germany, followed by a silver at the ISSF World Cup in New Delhi in 2021.
This bronze has taken India’s overall shooting medal tally at the ongoing Games to eight, made up of four silver and four bronze medals, keeping the country’s gold wait alive in the discipline.
Who won India’s first-ever medal in shooting mixed team skeet event at the Asian Games?
Anantjeet Singh Naruka and Parinaaz Dhaliwal were the first Indian duo to clinch a medal in the skeet mixed team event at the Asian Games 2026 in Nagoya. Anantjeet-Parinaaz won bronze.
Who won gold and silver in the skeet mixed team event at Asian Games 2026?
China won gold with 52 points, and South Korea took silver with 51 points.
How many medals has India won so far at Asian Games 2026?
The shooting contingent has so far won 8 of India’s 15 medals in Aichi-Nagogya.
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