Till Day 3 of the competition rounds at the ongoing 16th Asian Shooting Championship in Shymkent, Kazakhstan, Indians have been doing wonders, currently standing at the top of the medal tally with 16, including 6 gold, 5 silver, and 5 bronze, across senior and junior categories. Second is China with 8 medals (6 gold), and Korea with 9 (1 gold).
On Wednesday, August 20, both the 10m Air Pistol Mixed Teams, senior and junior, made it to the podium. In the senior category, Suruchi Singh Inder and Saurabh Chaudhary secured the bronze medal alongside Iran. India defeated Chinese Taipei with a score of 17-9 in the medal match. In the qualification round, the Indian duo had finished in 5th place with a total of 578-20x — Suruchi scoring 292-10x, and Saurabh 286-10x.
The juniors have been particularly impressive throughout the championship, and Wednesday was no exception. Vanshika Chaudhary and Antony Jonathan Gavin clinched the gold medal in the 10m Mixed Team Junior event, narrowly defeating South Korea 16-14 in a thrilling final. Earlier in the tour, Antony had also won an individual bronze in the same discipline.
In the Women’s Skeet Final, Maheshwari Chauhan was India’s sole representative. She delivered a strong performance and remained in medal contention until a few missed shots after the 30th target pushed her down to 4th place with 35 points — just one behind Kazakhstan’s Anastassiya Molchanova, who secured a podium finish.
However, in the Women’s Skeet Team event, India, represented by Maheshwari Chauhan, Ganemat Sekhon, and Raiza Dhillon, clinched the bronze medal with a combined total of 329 (113, 109, 107). They finished behind China (342) and Kazakhstan (339).
In the Men’s Skeet Final, Anant Jeet Singh Naruka is representing India, and the results are awaited later in the day.
Earlier on Tuesday, after Manu Bhaker bagged a bronze medal in the 10m Air Pistol, Rashmika Sahgal secured a gold medal in the junior category with a score of 241.9. The final also featured two other Indian shooters, Vanshika Chaudhary (194.7) and Urva Chaudhary (151.9), underlining the depth and strength of the Indian shooting contingent.
Looking ahead, on Thursday, August 21, the rifle shooters begin their campaign, with the 10m Air Rifle Final scheduled for the afternoon.
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