–by Pratyusha Mukherjee, Aichi-Nagoya, Japan
India’s Anantjeet Singh Naruka, Mairaj Ahmad Khan and Bhavtegh Singh Gill secured the bronze medal in the men’s skeet team event at the Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games 2026, holding their nerve in a tense shoot-off to finish on the podium.
The Indian trio finished the competition with a combined score of 346 points, tying with Kazakhstan. With the two teams level, the bronze medal was decided through a shoot-off, where India prevailed to secure third place. Qatar took gold with 353 points, while Kuwait claimed silver with 348.
The medal capped a strong showing from India’s skeet shooters at the Aichi Prefectural General Shooting Gallery. In the team competition, Naruka led the Indian effort with 119 hits, while veteran Mairaj Ahmad Khan contributed 116 and Bhavtegh Singh Gill finished with 111. Each shooter had a maximum of 125 targets available.
For Naruka, the team medal came on a particularly significant day. The 28-year-old also progressed to the men’s skeet individual final after a strong qualification performance, giving him another opportunity to challenge for a medal at the Games.
The bronze also added to India’s productive campaign in shooting. The men’s skeet team’s podium finish came alongside a bronze medal for Raiza Dhillon, Maheshwari Chauhan and Parinaaz Dhaliwal in the women’s skeet team event. The Indian women’s trio accumulated 331 points to finish third.
The men’s result underlined the depth of India’s skeet contingent, with Naruka, Gill and Mairaj combining their individual scores to produce a competitive team total and then delivering when the medal was decided in the shoot-off.
With Naruka also through to the individual final, India’s campaign in skeet continues beyond the team event. The bronze gives the Indian shooting contingent another podium finish at Aichi-Nagoya and adds to the country’s medal tally from the range.
