India’s shooters are on fire at the Asian Rifle/Pistol Championship, amassing 10 gold medals by the end of day two and leaving competitors in the dust. Hosting the event in New Delhi has only fueled the fire, with the home team asserting total control.
The spotlight fell on Samrat Rana, the reigning world champion, and Suruchi Singh, fresh off a World Cup Finals triumph, who bagged silver in the 10m Air Pistol Mixed Team. They led the 10-team qualification with 583 points but were edged out 481.3-479.6 by Uzbekistan’s duo Nigina Saidkulova and Mukhammad Kamalov in the nail-biting final.
Young talents stole the show elsewhere. In women’s junior 10m Air Pistol, Rashmika Sehgal’s 237.9 secured gold, with Vanshika Chaudhary’s 233.0 earning silver ahead of Indonesia’s Asyifa Rihadtul in bronze. Priyanshi Porwal topped the youth event at 234.8, with teammate Chahak Kohli at 233.0 for silver, as Chinese Taipei’s Liao Ke Rong took bronze.
Team glory followed suit: Rashmika, Vanshika, and Agam Grewal’s 1,714 points clinched junior team gold, 43 ahead of Kazakhstan. Priyanshi, Chahak, and Shiksha Saran’s 1,709 points mirrored this in youth, again relegating Kazakhstan to silver.
India’s haul: 10 golds, 5 silvers, 1 bronze. Uzbekistan sits second with 3 golds. Excitement builds for Friday’s mixed pistol teams and three men’s air rifle finals, where India promises more dominance in this high-stakes arena.