New Delhi, 11 February (H.S.): On Wednesday, Indian shooter Anish Bhanwala secured the bronze medal in the men's 25m rapid fire pistol event at the Asian Championship 2026. The 23-year-old finished third in the final with 23 hits.Kazakhstan's Nikita Chiryukin claimed silver with 28 hits, while Japan's Yoshioka Dai dominated with a world-record 31 hits to win gold.Before the decisive phase, all three medalists were tied at 21-21 hits.

In the penultimate series, Chiryukin hit four out of five to apply pressure. Dai responded with a perfect series to seize the lead, while 2018 Commonwealth Games gold medalist Anish managed only two hits, settling for third.

In the final series, qualification topper Chiryukin scored three hits. Dai needed merely a tie to seal gold but the 40-year-old Japanese delivered another perfect series, cementing his superiority.Fellow Indian Adarsh Singh placed sixth with 11 hits among finalists. In qualification, Bhavyeash Shekhawat topped Indians at third with 577 but competed only for Ranking Points (RPO), skipping the final.

Anish (574) and Adarsh (573) ranked seventh and eighth; Rajkawar Singh Sandhu (567) tenth, and Niraj Kumar (561) 16th among 18 entrants.

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Hindusthan Samachar / Jun Sarkar