India added another shooting medal to its tally at the Aichi Nagoya Asian Games 2026 as Anantjeet Singh Naruka, Mairaj Ahmad Khan and Bhavtegh Singh Gill won bronze in the men’s skeet team event on September 23.
The Indian trio finished the qualification competition with a combined score of 346 points. Kazakhstan also finished on 346, which meant that the two teams had to compete in a shoot off to determine the bronze medal position. India prevailed in the decisive shoot off and secured third place on the podium.
The medal represents another important result for India’s shooting contingent at the 2026 Asian Games. The men’s skeet team consisted of three experienced Indian shooters with Naruka, Mairaj and Bhavtegh contributing different scores to the overall team total.
Naruka was the leading Indian performer in the qualification round. He recorded 119 hits out of a possible 125 and qualified for the men’s individual skeet final. Mairaj Ahmad Khan finished the qualification stage with 116, while Bhavtegh Singh Gill scored 111. Only Naruka advanced from the Indian trio to the individual medal round.
The individual qualification result gave Naruka another opportunity to compete for a medal on the same day. His score of 119 placed him among the qualifiers for the final, which was scheduled to begin at 12:30 PM IST. The individual competition was separate from the team medal already secured by India.
The team bronze came after a close contest with Kazakhstan. Since both countries ended the qualification stage with 346 points, the shoot off became necessary to decide which team would take the bronze medal. India successfully handled the deciding stage and finished third.
Bhavtegh Singh Gill later described the medal as a special achievement, particularly because the Aichi Nagoya Games marked his first Asian Games appearance. He also acknowledged the support provided through Indian sports development programmes and training camps.
The men’s skeet medal also came on a productive day for Indian shooting. Earlier on September 23, the Indian women’s skeet team of Raiza Dhillon, Parinaaz Dhaliwal and Maheshwari Chauhan won bronze. Their result marked India’s first Asian Games medal in the women’s skeet team event.
The two skeet team medals therefore gave India a strong return from the shotgun events at Aichi Nagoya. The women’s team finished third with 331 points, while the men’s team collected 346 points before winning the shoot off against Kazakhstan.
The men’s skeet event features individual qualification and team scoring based on the performances of the participating shooters. In this competition, Naruka’s 119, Mairaj’s 116 and Bhavtegh’s 111 combined to give India the 346 point team score.
Naruka’s qualification for the individual final also kept India’s medal hopes alive beyond the team event. The Indian shooter entered the final after producing one of the stronger qualification performances among the competitors. His 119 out of 125 put him in contention for an individual medal later in the day.
For Mairaj Ahmad Khan, the team bronze added another medal opportunity to a long international career. Bhavtegh Singh Gill also became part of the Indian team that delivered a podium finish in the men’s skeet competition.
The result added to India’s growing medal tally in shooting at the Aichi Nagoya Asian Games. According to IANS, the men’s skeet bronze took India’s shooting medal count to seven, comprising four silver medals and three bronze medals at that stage of the competition. India’s overall medal tally had reached 10, including one gold, four silver and five bronze medals.
India’s performance in shooting has been an important part of its medal campaign at the 2026 Asian Games. The country had already won medals in the 10m air rifle events before the skeet competitions added further podium finishes.
The men’s skeet team bronze also continues India’s presence on the podium in the discipline at successive Asian Games. The team’s success in Aichi Nagoya came after a closely contested qualification stage and a shoot off against Kazakhstan.
With Naruka advancing to the individual final, India had another chance to add to its shooting medal tally later on September 23. His qualification was based on his 119 point performance, while Mairaj and Bhavtegh concluded their individual campaigns after the qualification stage.
The achievement of Naruka, Mairaj and Bhavtegh provides India with another significant result in the shooting competition. Their combined effort produced the team bronze, while Naruka’s individual qualification ensured that Indian interest in the men’s skeet event continued into the medal round.
The final result also means that India finished the men’s skeet team competition behind the two teams that secured gold and silver, while the shoot off determined the bronze position between India and Kazakhstan.
For Indian shooting fans, September 23 became a notable day at the Aichi Nagoya Asian Games, with both the men’s and women’s skeet teams winning bronze medals. Naruka’s qualification for the men’s individual final added another important development to the day.