Asian Games 2026: After two medals for Anant Jeet, Parinaaz after bronze in mixed skeet

Anant Jeet Singh Naruka and Parinaaz Dhaliwal on Thursday gave Indian skeet another reason to celebrate when they won bronze in the mixed team event at the 2026 Asian Games, completing a remarkable three-medal haul for India in the discipline.

The medal was India’s first ever at the Asian Games in mixed team skeet and meant that both Naruka and Parinaaz would leave Aichi-Nagoya with two medals each.

Their bronze came after a thrilling final made even more difficult by gusty winds at the Aichi Prefectural General Shooting Gallery. India finished with 44 points, while China took gold with a world record 52. South Korea took silver with 51, both beating the previous world record of 47 set by Qatar in January.

Asian Games 2026: September 24 update

FROM LAST QUALIFICATION TO MEDAL

Naruka and Parinaaz entered the four-team final in fourth place after scoring 138 in the qualifiers. Naruka hit 70 out of 75 targets while Parinaaz finished with 68.

Qatar dominated the qualification with 145, followed by South Korea with 143 and China with 140. However, the qualification scores were erased for the finals, so all four teams started again.

Qatar, despite qualifying top, was eliminated first, guaranteeing India at least a bronze and keeping the possibility of a medal improvement alive.

India got off to a solid start, hitting 21 of the 24 targets before conditions became increasingly challenging as occasional gusts swept across the range.

Indians responded well under pressure. Naruka missed just once in the next stage as India scored 44 points, enough to secure the bronze but not keep them in contention for the gold.

In the end, China achieved a remarkable result, scoring 52 points and setting a new world record. 51 from South Korea also bettered the previous mark.

However, for India, the bronze ended a streak of three skeet team events at these Games.

Naruka, Bhavtegh Singh Gill and Mairaj Ahmad Khan won bronze in the men’s team on Wednesday, while Parinaaz, Raiza Dhillon and Maheshwari Chauhan claimed bronze in the women’s team later in the day.

The the women’s medal was India’s first ever Asian Games skeet medal. A day later, Naruka and Parinaaz teamed up to ensure that every team skeet event in Aichi-Nagoya produced a medal for India.

TWO MEDALS, TWO DIFFERENT STORIES

For Parinaaz, 24, a second bronze capped off a breakthrough Asian Games campaign. The Patiala shooter missed out on a medal at the Hangzhou 2022 Games but returned four years later to help India make history in women’s skeet before adding another medal in the mixed event.

She said the pair’s aggressive attitude and constant encouragement helped them overcome the pressure.

“We were aggressive. We kept telling ourselves to keep fighting. That’s what a mixed team is all about,” Parinaaz said.

Naruko’s bronze added to the already an impressive Asian Games record. He won individual silver and men’s team bronze in Hangzhou before adding another team bronze and mixed team bronze in Aichi-Nagoya.

The 28-year-old also competed at the Paris Olympics where he and Maheshwari Chauhan finished fourth in the mixed team event.

This experience made Thursday’s podium finish particularly significant for him.

“This is the highest. You’re fourth in the Olympics, but if you’re not on the podium, it doesn’t matter. We fought well and won bronze today,” said Naruka.

For Indian skeet, the medals capped a historic two-day run: three races, three medals, including significant firsts in both the women’s and mixed teams.

– The end

Issued by:

Amar Panicker

Published on:

24 Sep 2026 13:33 IST