CM Majhi Hails India's Silver in Women's Rifle Team Event
Synopsis
Odisha Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi congratulated Tilottama Sen, Vidarsa K. Vinod, and Ashi Chouksey on claiming Silver in the Women's 50m Rifle 3 Positions Team event at the Asian Games 2026, hailing their achievement as a source of national pride under the NariShakti banner.
Key Takeaways
Tilottama Sen , Vidarsa K.
Vinod , and Ashi Chouksey won Silver in the Women's 50m Rifle 3 Positions Team event at Asian Games 2026 .
Odisha CM Mohan Charan Majhi publicly congratulated the trio on 26 September 2026 via X.
The 50m Rifle 3 Positions discipline demands kneeling, prone, and standing shooting — among the most technically challenging in the sport.
Shooting is one of India's most consistent medal-producing disciplines at the Asian Games.
The Khelo India programme, launched in 2017 , supports grassroots shooting talent across Olympic disciplines and underpins the women's pipeline.
The result adds momentum to India's shooter support case ahead of the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics cycle.
Three Indian women shooters etched their names into the Asian Games 2026 record books, and Odisha Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi was among the first to salute them. Tilottama Sen, Vidarsa K. Vinod, and Ashi Chouksey claimed a Silver Medal in the Women's 50m Rifle 3 Positions Team event on Saturday, 26 September 2026 — a result that sent a ripple of pride across the country's sporting community.
CM Majhi posted his congratulations on X, writing: 'Their precision, focus and determination have brought immense pride to the nation.' The message closed with the hashtags #NariShakti and #TeamIndia — a deliberate framing that places the trio's achievement within the broader national narrative of empowering women in sport.
The 50m Rifle 3 Positions — India's Quiet Powerhouse
The 50m Rifle 3 Positions is one of the sport's most demanding disciplines, requiring competitors to shoot from kneeling, prone, and standing positions — each testing a distinct blend of strength, breath control, and nerve. India's women's shooting contingent has steadily built depth in this event over the last decade, making a team podium finish at the Asian Games a reflection of sustained, systematic development rather than a single flash of brilliance.
Shooting has long been one of India's most reliable medal streams at the Asian Games, and the women's rifle pipeline in particular has benefited from the Khelo India programme — launched in 2017 — which funds grassroots talent identification across Olympic disciplines. The three medallists represent that pipeline bearing fruit on the continental stage.
Nari Shakti on the Firing Line
The deliberate use of #NariShakti — 'women's power' — by CM Majhi is no accident. Indian political leaders across parties have increasingly woven women athletes into a national empowerment story, using high-profile international results to amplify the message that sport is a legitimate arena for female ambition. A silver medal in a precision discipline, won by a three-woman team, is exactly the kind of imagery that narrative is built around.
For Tilottama Sen, Vidarsa K. Vinod, and Ashi Chouksey, the applause from a Chief Minister is welcome — but the medal itself is the argument. Precision, patience, and pressure management under continental competition: those qualities don't arrive without years of unglamorous work on the range.
With the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics cycle now in full swing, every podium finish at the Asian Games sharpens the case for shooter support under the government's Target Olympic Podium Scheme. Watch for whether these three names enter that conversation next.
Point of View
The result underlines how India's shooting infrastructure has matured from producing individual champions to fielding competitive teams, a shift that matters greatly for the 2028 Olympics cycle. The Khelo India programme deserves scrutiny on whether institutional investment is being matched with athlete welfare and coaching quality. If these three names appear in TOPS nominations soon, the state-level political salute will have done its job as social signal.
NationPress
26 Sept 2026
Frequently Asked Questions
Who won the silver medal in Women's 50m Rifle 3 Positions Team at Asian Games 2026?
Tilottama Sen, Vidarsa K. Vinod, and Ashi Chouksey won the Silver Medal for India in the Women's 50m Rifle 3 Positions Team event at the Asian Games 2026.
What is the Women's 50m Rifle 3 Positions event?
It is a shooting discipline in which competitors fire from three positions — kneeling, prone, and standing — at a target 50 metres away, testing precision, breath control, and physical endurance.
Why did Odisha CM Mohan Majhi congratulate the shooters?
Mohan Charan Majhi, Chief Minister of Odisha and a BJP leader, congratulated the trio as part of his public support for Indian athletes excelling at international events, framing their win as a moment of national and women's empowerment pride.
What is the Khelo India programme and how does it help shooters?
Khelo India is a government programme launched in 2017 to identify and fund grassroots sporting talent across Olympic disciplines including shooting, helping build the pipeline of competitive athletes who represent India at events like the Asian Games.
What does this silver medal mean for India's 2028 Olympic preparations?
A team podium at the Asian Games strengthens the case for these shooters to receive support under India's Target Olympic Podium Scheme (TOPS) as the country builds its squad for the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics.
