– by Pratyusha Mukherjee, Aichi-Nagoya, Japan
India secured a hard-fought silver medal in the men’s 50m rifle 3 positions team event at the 2026 Asian Games, with Aishwary Pratap Singh Tomar, Niraj Kumar and Rudrankksh Patil combining for a strong performance to finish second behind China.
The Indian trio accumulated 1762-94x, narrowly missing out on the gold medal as China topped the standings with 1766-95x. South Korea completed the podium with 1751-87x to take bronze.
India built its medal-winning score consistently across the three demanding shooting positions — kneeling, prone and standing. The team opened with 294 points in the first kneeling series, followed by 293 in the second, taking the combined score to 587 at the halfway stage of the opening position.
The Indian shooters then maintained their momentum in the prone position. A score of 297 in the first prone series took the team total to 884, while another 296 in the second prone series lifted it further to 1180.
The final challenge came in the standing position, where the trio produced two identical scores of 291, bringing India’s overall tally to 1762-94x and securing the silver medal.
Tomar and Niraj were particularly impressive in the individual qualification standings. Tomar finished third with 589-34x, while Niraj followed closely in fourth with 588-34x, earning both shooters places in the individual final later in the day. Patil, who finished ninth with 585-26x, also made an important contribution to India’s team medal, with his qualification score counting fully towards the combined total.
The qualification round also served as the pathway to the individual final, giving India two representatives in the eight-shooter medal round.
Tomar carried his strong qualification form into the final and remained in contention through the early stages. He was sixth after the prone series before moving up to fifth following the second kneeling series, reaching 205.3 points at that stage. He ultimately finished fifth overall with 327.6 points after a competitive final.
For Niraj Kumar, the individual final proved more challenging. After entering the medal round as the fourth-ranked qualifier, he struggled to reproduce his earlier form and eventually finished eighth with 299 points.
China dominated the individual podium, with Liu Yukun claiming gold and Zhang Changhong taking silver. Islam Satpayev of Kazakhstan secured the bronze medal.
While the individual final did not bring another medal for India, the team silver represented a significant achievement for Tomar, Niraj and Patil, whose combined consistency across all three positions kept India firmly in medal contention throughout the qualification round.
The result also underlined the depth of India’s shooting contingent at the Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games, with the trio demonstrating composure and consistency under the pressure of a closely contested team competition.
Image: Asian Games / NRAI
