Indian shooters clinch double podium finishes at Asian Games
Indian marksmen Himanshu Dhillon and Rudrankksh Patil delivered outstanding performances to win silver and bronze medals in the men's 10m air rifle individual final on Monday. Competing at the 2026 Asian Games in Aichi-Nagoya, the duo kept fans on edge during a tightly contested match. Sheng Lihao from China eventually claimed gold with a score of 233.0.
Rudrankksh began the event with sharp focus, taking an early lead by scoring 52.8 in his opening series. He improved his advantage with a strong 53.2 in the second series to move 1.1 points ahead. Competition grew fierce as Himanshu climbed into second place. By the 16th shot, Sheng moved into first place with 168.8 points, leaving both Indian shooters tied closely at 168.6. Himanshu fired an impressive 10.9 to challenge the leader before a costly 9.8 dropped him briefly to third. The final stages brought intense pressure. Rudrankksh suffered elimination after 22 shots following a 9.7, finishing with 230.9 points securing bronze. Himanshu advanced to the final two-man shootout, finishing just ahead of his compatriot with 231.0 to win silver.
Shooting success extended beyond individual efforts as the trio of Rudrankksh, Himanshu, and Parth Mane won silver in the men's 10m air rifle team event. They posted a combined score of 1890.1, finishing behind China's 1899.0 and ahead of South Korea's 1841.4. Indian athletes also made progress in other arenas. Srihari Nataraj advanced to the men's 50m backstroke final, while the women's table tennis team defeated Pakistan 3-0 in their Group F match.
With Inputs from Agency Threads and Image Courtesy: ANI/SAI Media
