Indian duo of Anantjeet Singh Naruka and Parinaaz Dhaliwal finished in third place in mixed team skeet shooting final behind China and South Korea at Asian Games 2026.
Updated: September 24, 2026, 12:50 PM IST
Share Article
https://www.india.com/sports/others/asian-games-2026-india-anantjeet-singh-naruka-parinaaz-dhaliwal-create-history-win-first-ever-mixed-team-skeet-shooting-medal-8529569/
Indian skeet shooter Parinaaz Dhaliwal in action in Asian Games 2026(Photo: IANS)
Asian Games 2026: A day after winning bronze medal in the men’s and women’s team skeet shooting event at the Asian Games 2026, India’s Anantjeet Singh Naruka and Parinaaz Dhaliwal created history for the nation by winning bronze medal in the mixed team skeet shooting event on ThursdayThe Indian pair won the only medal on a disappointing day for the shooting contingent at the Games.
The Indian duo finished third with a score of 44 in the finalThey maintained a steady progression through the six series, moving from 7 after the opening series to 14, 21, 29, 36 and finally 44.
South Korea were tied on 44, but India having finished fourth in the qualification, took the bronze based on the qualification rankingChina won the gold with 52 points while South Korea bagged the silver after ending up with 51 points in the 7th series of shots.
Anantjeet and Parinaaz had earlier entered the final after finishing fourth in the qualification round with an aggregate score of 138, securing the last available spotThe bronze medal has increased India’s shooting tally to eight – four silver and four bronze – at the ongoing Asian Games 2026.
Both Parinaaz and Naruka were a part of the respective women’s and men’s teams that clinched bronze medals on WednesdayQatar had topped the qualification round with a score of 145 ahead of Korea (143) and China (140) but fell away in the final and finished in 4th place.
BRONZE FOR INDIA!
Parinaaz & Anantjeet Singh win BRONZE in the Skeet Mixed Team event at #AsianGames2026!
Another shooting medal for Team India! #TeamIndia #Shooting #AsianGames2026 #IndiaSportsHub pic.twitter.com/e2jZwcMcZI
— IndiaSportsHub (@IndiaSportsHub) September 24, 2026
Anantjeet Singh Naruka was inspired for father
The 28-year-old from Jaipur was inspired to take up the sport by his father Dalpat Singh Naruka, who was also a former skeet shooter for IndiaAfter making his international debut in 2014 Asian Shotgun Championship in Al Ain in UAE, he currently trains under his father as his personal coach and Italian coach Riccardo Filippelli as the national coach, with training based in Jaipur, Delhi and Italy.
Anantjeet has won the silver medal in men’s Skeet and bronze medal in the men’s Skeet Team event at the Asian Games 2023 in Hangzhou as well, was part of India contingent at the Paris Olympics 2024 and won the gold medal in Men’s Skeet at the Asian Shotgun Championship 2025 in Shymkent.
Parinaaz Dhaliwal turned from trap shooting to skeet
The 24-year-old from Patiala was initially attracted towards trap shooting before switching her allegiance to the skeet shootingShe began shooting in 2015 at the New Moti Bagh Gun Club.
Parinaaz won her first ISSF medal with a bronze medal in the Junior Women’s Skeet Team event at the 2022 ISSF Junior World Cup in Suhl in GermanyShe later secured a silver medal in the Women’s Skeet Team event at the ISSF World Cup in New Delhi (2021)She represented India at the Asian Games 2023 in Hangzhou, where the Indian women’s skeet team finished in fourth place but has now won two bronze medals at the 2026 edition.
Earlier, the Indian men’s 10m air pistol team missed out on a bronze medal as it ended fourth placeThe trio of Kamaljeet, Balakrishna Kedarling Uchaganve and Aakash Bharadwaj finished with a score of 1730 across six seriesTo make it worse for India, none of the three managed to qualify for the individual finals.
China won the gold on account of a higher inner 10 count (1743-70x), ahead of silver-medallists Indonesia (1743-57x) and bronze-winners Japan (1730)Kamaljeet finished ninth, while Akash and Kedarling were positioned at 11th and 35th spots respectively.
