August, 25 September (H.S.): Indian Olympic Association President PT Usha on Friday praised the outstanding performances of Indian shooters on the sixth day of the 2026 Asian Games. Indian shooters strengthened the country’s medal campaign by winning a silver and a gold medal in the 50m Rifle 3 Positions Team and 10m Air Pistol Mixed Team events, respectively.

Taking to social media platform X, PT Usha lauded the Indian athletes for their determination and concentration. She congratulated Rudrankksh Patil, Aishwary Pratap Singh Tomar and Niraj Kumar, as well as gold medallists Suruchi Singh and Kamaljeet. She also extended her best wishes to Aishwary and Niraj for their individual final.

PT Usha said, “I am proud of the grit and concentration displayed by our athletes. Suruchi and Kamaljeet’s young pistol mixed team delivered outstanding shooting. Aishwary, Niraj and Rudrankksh’s 50m three-position team also put up a strong performance. Best wishes to Aishwary and Niraj for their final. #JeetHamariHai”

In the men’s 50m Rifle 3 Positions Team event, the Indian team comprising Rudrankksh Patil, Aishwary Pratap Singh Tomar and Niraj Kumar scored 1762-94x. China won the gold medal with 1766-95x, while the Republic of Korea secured the bronze with 1751-87x.

India had won gold in the same event at the 2022 Asian Games. This time, however, China claimed the title.

In the individual event, Aishwary finished third with a score of 589-34x, while Niraj was fourth with 588-34x. Both qualified for the individual final of the 50m Rifle 3 Positions event. Rudrankksh finished ninth with 585-26x and failed to qualify for the final.

Meanwhile, in the 10m Air Pistol Mixed Team event, Suruchi Singh and Kamaljeet delivered an outstanding performance to win the gold medal with a score of 484.6 points. South Korea won silver with 478.0 points, while Iran secured bronze with 415.8 points. Indonesia finished outside the medal positions with 349.4 points.

Suruchi and Kamaljeet also broke the Asian record while winning the gold medal. Their score of 484.6 points surpassed the previous record of 481.3, which had been held by Uzbekistan. The record was set at the Asian Shooting Championships held in New Delhi earlier this year.

With this gold medal, India secured its second gold at the Asian Games. India’s overall medal tally has now reached 19, comprising two gold, eight silver and nine bronze medals.

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Hindusthan Samachar / Jun Sarkar