Rijiju hails India's first Asian Games Skeet Mixed Team bronze
Synopsis
Parinaaz Dhaliwal and Anantjeet Singh Naruka claimed India's first-ever Asian Games medal in the Skeet Mixed Team event, winning bronze at the 2026 Asian Games. Union Minister Kiren Rijiju hailed the achievement as historic on social media.
Key Takeaways
Parinaaz Dhaliwal and Anantjeet Singh Naruka won a Bronze Medal in the Skeet Mixed Team event at the 2026 Asian Games .
This is India's first-ever Asian Games medal in the Skeet Mixed Team discipline.
Union Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju congratulated the pair on September 24, 2026 .
The medal adds to India's overall tally at the 2026 Asian Games , with other shooting events still ongoing.
The result reflects years of development investment in Indian elite shooting across mixed-team formats.
History was made on the shooting range at the 2026 Asian Games when Parinaaz Dhaliwal and Anantjeet Singh Naruka claimed a Bronze Medal in the Skeet Mixed Team event — India's first-ever Asian Games medal in that discipline. Union Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju was among the first to mark the moment, posting his congratulations on Thursday, September 24, 2026.
A blank column on the medal table — finally filled
The Skeet Mixed Team format pairs a male and female shooter competing together across a shared round of clay-target shooting, demanding synchronised nerves and consistent technique under pressure. Until today, that column in India's Asian Games shooting record had never seen a podium finish. Dhaliwal and Naruka changed that permanently.
Rijiju's post captured the weight of the moment succinctly: 'A historic Bronze for Bharat!' — with the emphasis on 'historic' doing real work. This is not a near-miss upgraded in hindsight; it is a clean first, a fresh line in the record books.
Naruka and Dhaliwal: the pair who broke the barrier
Anantjeet Singh Naruka has been among India's most consistent skeet shooters at the international level, accumulating World Cup and continental experience over several years. Parinaaz Dhaliwal has emerged as a leading name in the women's skeet circuit, combining with Naruka to give India a formidable mixed-team combination. Together they represent the depth that Indian shooting's development pipeline — backed by government support for elite training and international exposure — has been quietly building toward.
Shooting's steady rise in India's Asian Games story
India has a long, proud history in shooting at the Asian Games, with medals across rifle, pistol, and shotgun events at successive editions. Mixed-team formats, which became more prominent on the international calendar as they were added to Olympic and continental programmes, represent a newer frontier. Cracking that frontier at the continental level carries real significance: it signals that Indian shooting's bench strength now extends into formats that will increasingly define global competition.
With other shooting events still to conclude at the 2026 Asian Games, this bronze sets a tone — and a target for teammates still to compete.
The blank column is filled. The door is open. Now India's shooters aim for gold.
Point of View
Not merely a feel-good moment — it confirms that Indian shooting has expanded its medal-winning capacity into newer mixed formats that align directly with Olympic programme trends. For the BJP-led government, which has consistently used elite sports achievements as markers of national confidence and 'New India' ambition, a senior minister's swift public congratulation is part of a deliberate visibility strategy. More broadly, the result underscores how sustained investment in training pipelines and international exposure can quietly convert athletic potential into continental podiums, often without a single headline-grabbing moment until the medal itself arrives.
NationPress
24 Sept 2026
Frequently Asked Questions
Who are Parinaaz Dhaliwal and Anantjeet Singh Naruka?
Parinaaz Dhaliwal and Anantjeet Singh Naruka are Indian skeet shooters who won a bronze medal together in the Skeet Mixed Team event at the 2026 Asian Games, marking India's first-ever medal in that discipline at the continental games.
What is the Skeet Mixed Team event in shooting?
The Skeet Mixed Team event pairs one male and one female shooter who compete together by shooting at clay targets launched from a trap. Their combined scores determine the team's standing in the competition.
Is this India's first medal in Skeet Mixed Team at the Asian Games?
Yes. According to Union Minister Kiren Rijiju's post on September 24, 2026, the bronze won by Parinaaz Dhaliwal and Anantjeet Singh Naruka is India's first-ever Asian Games medal in the Skeet Mixed Team event.
Where are the 2026 Asian Games being held?
The specific host city of the 2026 Asian Games has not been detailed in available information, but the event is the quadrennial multi-sport continental games organised by the Olympic Council of Asia.
What did Kiren Rijiju say about the Skeet Mixed Team medal?
Union Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju posted on X calling it 'A historic Bronze for Bharat' and congratulated Parinaaz Dhaliwal and Anantjeet Singh Naruka, noting it was the first-ever Asian Games medal for India in the event.
