India secures its first-ever Asian Games medal in the skeet mixed team event at Aichi-Nagoya
Aichi-Nagoya : Anantjeet Singh Naruka and Parinaaz Dhaliwal created history on Thursday by winning the bronze medal in the skeet mixed team event at the 2026 Asian Games, giving India its first-ever medal in this category.
The Indian pair produced a strong performance in a closely contested medal round, finishing with 44 hits. South Korea also recorded 44 hits, but India had to settle for bronze after the tie-break criteria were applied. South Korea had a higher qualifying score of 143, compared with India’s 138, which gave the Korean pair the advantage for the silver medal.
China won the gold medal, while South Korea took silver.
India Holds Its Ground in a Tight Final
Naruka and Dhaliwal made a strong start to the final, staying within reach of the leading teams throughout the competition.
India entered the medal round after finishing fourth in qualification with 138 hits out of 150 targets. Their qualification series were reported as 44, 47 and 47. China topped qualification with 145, followed by South Korea with 143.
The Indian duo maintained their composure as the final progressed and eventually reached 44 hits, putting them level with South Korea.
With the two teams tied, the qualification score became decisive. South Korea’s higher qualifying total secured the silver medal, while India claimed bronze.
First Mixed Skeet Medal for India
The bronze is a landmark achievement for Indian shooting. It is the first Asian Games medal won by India in the skeet mixed team event.
The result also extended India’s strong run in skeet at the Aichi-Nagoya Games. Anantjeet and Parinaaz had already won bronze medals in the men’s and women’s skeet team events respectively, meaning both shooters now have two medals each at these Games.
For Indian skeet, the three team medals across the men’s, women’s and mixed events represent a particularly significant performance at the 2026 Asian Games.
Naruka Adds Another Asian Games Medal
For Anantjeet Singh Naruka, the mixed-team bronze adds to an already strong Asian Games record. He had previously won an individual silver and a men’s team bronze at the 2022 Asian Games in Hangzhou.
Naruka also came close to a mixed-team medal at the previous Asian Games, making Thursday’s podium finish another significant milestone in his continental career.
For Parinaaz Dhaliwal, the mixed-team bronze came a day after she helped India secure bronze in the women’s skeet team event, alongside Raiza Dhillon and Maheshwari Chauhan.
Another Medal for India’s Shooting Contingent
The historic skeet result further strengthened India’s medal haul in shooting at the Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games. The mixed-team bronze took India’s overall shooting tally to eight medals at that stage of the competition, according to reports.
The performance of Naruka and Dhaliwal has also underlined the growing depth of India’s skeet contingent, with the country winning medals across multiple team formats at the Games.
