Indian Shooters at the Asian Games: Medal Winners and Records
Twenty-two medals in 2023, then 15 in 2026. Those two numbers sum up the recent story of Indian shooters at the Asian Games. The Hangzhou haul was a record, and Aichi-Nagoya added a new set of names. Together, they show how deep India’s shooting bench has become.
This guide walks through both Games, event by event. You’ll see who won what, which records fell, and how shooting fits into India’s overall medal count. Along the way, you’ll also find simple notes on how each event works.
The Big Picture for Indian Shooters at the Asian Games
Shooting is one of the steadiest medal sources for India at this level. At the 2026 Games in Aichi-Nagoya, India finished fourth with 85 medals, including 21 golds. Shooters contributed 15 of them. At Hangzhou in 2023, India won 106 medals overall, and shooters delivered 22 of those.
Those figures give a clear share. Shooting made up about 18 percent of India’s 2026 medals and about 21 percent of its 2023 medals. In other words, roughly one in five Indian medals came from the range. This guide focuses on those two latest Games, since they’re the best documented.
Hangzhou 2023: The Record Haul
India’s shooters won 22 medals at Hangzhou, including seven golds. That remains India’s record return in the sport at the Asian Games. The result also helped India reach its best-ever overall tally of 106 medals, with 28 golds, 38 silvers and 40 bronzes.
Rifle and Pistol Highlights
Two results from early in the shooting programme stand out. In the men’s 50m rifle three positions team event, Aishwary Pratap Singh Tomar, Swapnil Kusale and Akhil Sheoran won gold. That event asks shooters to fire from three body positions, so balance and consistency matter.
In the women’s 10m air pistol, Palak Gulia won gold, and Esha Singh took silver. Esha, Palak and Divya then won silver in the team event. Because of this, India collected five medals across just a few days of pistol and rifle action.
Aichi-Nagoya 2026: The Medal Winners
The 2026 Games ran from 19 September to 4 October. India’s shooters returned with 15 medals: three golds, eight silvers and four bronzes. The total was seven medals and four golds fewer than in 2023. Even so, the team produced a fresh group of winners.
The Three Golds
Neeru Dhanda led the way, finishing as India’s most successful shooter in Japan. She won two golds and a silver in the trap events. Her golds came in the women’s trap and in the mixed trap team, where she partnered Kynan Chenai.
India’s third gold came from the 10m air pistol mixed team. Suruchi Singh and Kamaljeet won that event, and their scores appear among the Asian Games records.
The Air Rifle Silvers
Air rifle produced a wave of silver medals. Elavenil Valarivan won silver in the women’s 10m air rifle. She also teamed up with Sonam Maskar and Vidarsa Vinod for team silver. In the men’s event, Himanshu Dhillon took individual silver, and Rudrankksh Patil won bronze. The trio of Rudrankksh Patil, Parth Mane and Himanshu Dhillon then took team silver.
Other Team Medals
Aishwary Pratap Singh Tomar, Rudrankksh Patil and Niraj Kumar won silver in the men’s 50m rifle three positions team event. Meanwhile, Parinaaz Dhaliwal, Raiza Dhillon and Maheshwari Chauhan took bronze in the women’s skeet team event. These results show that India’s strength isn’t limited to one discipline.
Medal Winners at a Glance
Here’s a quick view of some of the 2026 medal winners and their events.
- Gold: Suruchi Singh and Kamaljeet, 10m air pistol mixed team
- Gold: Neeru Dhanda, women’s trap
- Gold: Neeru Dhanda and Kynan Chenai, mixed trap team
- Silver: Elavenil Valarivan, women’s 10m air rifle
- Silver: Himanshu Dhillon, men’s 10m air rifle
- Silver: Rudrankksh Patil, Parth Mane and Himanshu Dhillon, men’s 10m air rifle team
- Bronze: Rudrankksh Patil, men’s 10m air rifle
- Bronze: Parinaaz Dhaliwal, Raiza Dhillon and Maheshwari Chauhan, women’s skeet team
This list isn’t the full set of 15 medals, but it covers the main stories. For the complete table, check the official Asian Games results.
Records at the 2026 Games
Several Indian scores appear in a published list of Asian Games shooting records. Suruchi Singh and Kamaljeet shot 587 in qualification and 484.6 in the final of the 10m air pistol mixed team event. Both numbers appear as Games records. Their gold came on 25 September 2026.
Trap produced records too. Kynan Chenai and Neeru Dhanda’s final score of 34 in the mixed trap team appears in the same list. Neeru Dhanda also appears for an individual final on 29 September. As a result, the 2026 Games gave Indian shooters records in both pistol and shotgun disciplines.
How the Main Events Work
Understanding the formats makes the results more meaningful. Air rifle and air pistol are fired from 10 metres. Trap and skeet are shotgun events where shooters hit clay targets in flight. Team events add the scores of each member.
Air rifle uses decimal scoring, which means each shot can score up to 10.9. Qualification has 60 shots, and the final has 24, with eliminations every two shots after the first stage. Our guide to 10m air rifle rules and scoring covers every detail. Trap and skeet use a different system, where shooters score by breaking targets.
Why Shooting Delivers for India
Indian shooters have a deep pool of events to target. The Asian Games program includes rifle, pistol and shotgun events, plus mixed teams. Because of this, one strong squad can win medals across many disciplines. Mixed team events add even more chances, since they pair a man and a woman.
The shooting program is also a precision test, similar to other aiming sports. Archery, for example, uses the same kind of focus at a longer range. Our guide to Olympic archery rules shows how it works. Meanwhile, fans who like gear details can read our comparison of recurve vs compound archery.
What the Numbers Suggest
The drop from 22 medals to 15 shouldn’t be read as a decline. Each Games has a different event list, different hosts and different rivals. China, Japan and South Korea field strong shooting teams, and results can swing on a single shot. Even so, India still produced three golds and eight silvers in 2026.
New names also matter. Suruchi Singh, Kamaljeet, Neeru Dhanda and Kynan Chenai all appear among the gold medallists. Elavenil Valarivan, Himanshu Dhillon and Rudrankksh Patil add to the list of silver and bronze winners. That mix of fresh winners and returning stars suggests the pipeline is healthy.
Hangzhou and Aichi-Nagoya Side by Side
Putting the two Games next to each other shows the shape of India’s shooting story. The numbers below come from the official medal reports for each edition.
- Hangzhou 2023: 22 shooting medals, including seven golds, out of 106 overall
- Aichi-Nagoya 2026: 15 shooting medals, including three golds, out of 85 overall
- Overall rank: India finished fourth in the medal table at both Games
- Team events: rifle and pistol squads won medals at both editions
Notice how team events appear again and again. Squads of three give India extra chances, since one strong group can win a medal even when an individual has an off day. Likewise, mixed team events reward balanced pairs. That’s why coaches often build teams around partners who handle pressure in similar ways.
Medal counts also say little about margins. A silver by a single point can look identical to a silver by a wide gap in the table. So fans should read the scores, not just the colours. The finals in air rifle and air pistol often come down to tenths of a point, and that makes each medal harder to win than it looks.
Key Takeaways
- 2023 haul: India’s shooters won 22 medals at Hangzhou, including seven golds.
- 2026 haul: India’s shooters won 15 medals at Aichi-Nagoya, with three golds.
- Top performer: Neeru Dhanda won two golds and a silver in trap events.
- Mixed team gold: Suruchi Singh and Kamaljeet won the 10m air pistol mixed team.
- Share of medals: shooting delivered roughly one in five of India’s medals in both Games.
FAQs
How many shooting medals did India win at the 2026 Asian Games?
India won 15 shooting medals, with three golds, eight silvers and four bronzes.
How many shooting medals did India win at Hangzhou 2023?
India won a record 22 shooting medals, including seven golds.
Who was India’s most successful shooter at the 2026 Asian Games?
Neeru Dhanda won two golds and a silver in the trap events.
Who won the 10m air pistol mixed team gold in 2026?
Suruchi Singh and Kamaljeet won that event for India.
Who won silver in the women’s 10m air rifle at the 2026 Asian Games?
Elavenil Valarivan won silver in the individual event.
Conclusion
Indian shooters at the Asian Games have built a strong record in the two most recent editions. Hangzhou 2023 brought 22 medals and seven golds, while Aichi-Nagoya 2026 added 15 medals and three golds. New winners joined familiar names, and records fell in pistol and trap events. Together, those results show a squad with depth, range and growing confidence.
