India had a moment to celebrate during the 10m air pistol events at the Asian Games 2026, thanks to a last-minute pairing of two shooters. Suruchi Singh and Kamaljeet delivered an excellent performance, clinching the gold medal in the mixed team event and setting a new record for the Asian Games.
This victory marked India’s first gold in shooting at the Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games and the second overall, as the women’s cricket team had previously secured the country’s first gold medal.
The win was especially important for the Indian 10m air pistol squad, which had experienced a tough competition up until that point. In the last Asian Games, India had done well in this discipline by securing gold in the men’s team event and both gold and silver medals in the women’s individual event. However, this year had seen no medals for them up to Friday.
Even renowned shooter Manu Bhaker, an Olympic hopeful, missed the podium after competing in the women’s 10m air pistol final. Additionally, the Indian teams in both men’s and women’s categories were unable to secure any medals.
The mixed team event stood as the last chance to salvage something from the 10m air pistol competitions. The National Rifle Association of India made a strong decision just before the event to change their initial plan, opting to pair Suruchi with Kamaljeet instead of Kedarling Balakrishna Uchaganve, who had initially been chosen. Following a qualification round where Kamaljeet scored 580 points, making him the top performer for India, the NRAI decided to switch him into the mixed team event. Kedarling had a less favorable qualifying round, finishing in 35th place.
The change proved to be a winning strategy. Kamaljeet and Suruchi excelled during qualifications, securing their spot in the medal round with an impressive score of 587 points, including 29 inner 10s. They started strong with a score of 196 in their opening series, followed by 195 in the second and 196 in the third, totaling 587 and comfortably placing them in the final.
Once in the final, they maintained their lead with a score of 484.6 points, winning by a notable margin of 6.6 points over South Korea’s Suhyeon Hong and Gaeun Choo, who took home the silver medal with 478.0 points. Iran snagged the bronze with a score of 415.8 points. Such a difference in points is rare in a sport where victories often come down to minute margins, and the Indian duo was just 3.8 points shy of the world record.
This achievement marked a remarkable comeback for both shooters, particularly after their previous disappointing individual performances. Kamaljeet just missed making it to the men’s individual final by a single point, while Suruchi finished 26th in the women’s qualification, failing to qualify for the final. However, they came together in this mixed event, which neither had initially planned to participate in as a duo. They responded in style by delivering their best shooting of the Games and ensuring that India’s wait for a gold medal from the shooting range did not stretch beyond the sixth day of the Asian Games.
