SportsPosted at: Sep 25 2026 5:11PM


Asian Games: Last-minute gamble turns golden for Suruchi and Kamaljeet; men’s Rifle 3P team bags silver

New Delhi, Sep 25 (UNI) A last-minute change in pairing turned into a golden gamble for India as Suruchi Inder Singh and Kamaljeet combined to end the country’s wait for a second gold medal at the Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games on Friday.
The duo, brought together only after a late change by the National Rifle Association of India (NRAI), produced an Asian record score of 484.6 to win the mixed team 10m air pistol gold. South Korea’s Suhyeon Hong and Gaeun Choo took silver with 478.0, while Iran’s Vahid Golkhandan and Haniyeh Rostamiyan won bronze with 415.8.
The gold was India’s second of the Games and came after a series of near-misses for the shooting contingent. At Hangzhou 2023, shooting had contributed seven of India’s 28 golds.
Suruchi was originally paired with Kedarling Balakrishna Uchaganve. But after Thursday’s qualification, where Kamaljeet emerged as India’s top performer with 580 points to finish ninth, the NRAI replaced Kedarling with him. Kedarling had finished 35th with 568 points.
The decision paid off immediately as Suruchi and Kamaljeet topped the qualification with an Asian Games record 587 (29 inner 10s), bettering the previous mark of 577 set by Sarabjot Singh and Divya Subbaraju at Hangzhou. Their score also equalled the Asian record set by Manu Bhaker and Saurabh Chaudhary at the 2021 ISSF World Cup in Osijek.
In the final, the new pairing maintained its composure under pressure and bettered the previous Asian record of 481.3, set by Uzbekistan’s Mukhammad Kamalov and Nigina Saidkulova in February.
The gold also completed a remarkable turnaround for both shooters. Kamaljeet had missed the men’s individual final by one point on Thursday, while Suruchi finished 26th in the women’s qualification.
For Suruchi, who took up shooting at 13 after initially being encouraged to try wrestling, the medal adds to the Haryana shooter's rapid rise after three World Cup golds in the 10m air pistol events in 2025.
Kamaljeet, a former track-and-field athlete who switched to shooting after an injury in 2019, has also overcome financial difficulties to establish himself on the international circuit.
Silver lining for men’s Rifle 3P team
The men’s 50m rifle 3 positions team comprising Aishwary Pratap Singh Tomar, Niraj Kumar and Rudrankksh Patil doubled the joy early on Friday by picking the silver medal with a combined score of 1762. China (1766) topped the podium while South Korea (1751) claimed bronze.
Aishwary led the Indian trio with 589-34x, finishing third in qualification. Niraj was fourth with 588-34x, while Rudrankksh shot 585-26x to finish ninth.
Aishwary and Niraj progressed to the eight-man medal round but neither could add an individual medal. Aishwary finished fifth with 327.6, while Niraj placed eighth with 299.0.
Aishwary had been one of India’s most successful shooters at the previous Asian Games in Hangzhou, returning with four medals. He won gold in both the men’s 10m air rifle and 50m rifle 3 positions team events, alongside individual bronze in the 10m air rifle and silver in the 50m rifle 3 positions.
UNI TB RSA
Tags: #Asian Games: Last-minute gamble turns golden for Suruchi and Kamaljeet; men’s Rifle 3P team bags silver
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