Parth Mane wins maiden Asian Games silver in 10m air rifle team event
Synopsis
At 21, Parth Mane stepped off the Asian Games podium in Nagoya with silver — his first medal at a senior event of any kind. A Junior World Champion in 2024, he has been candid about the difficulty of the junior-to-senior jump, making this result both a personal milestone and a signal that Indian shooting's junior pipeline is beginning to deliver at the senior level too.
Key Takeaways
Parth Mane won a silver medal in the men's 10m air rifle team event at the Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games on 21 September .
The medal is his first at the Asian Games and his first at any senior-level competition .
Mane, 21 , won gold at the Junior World Championship in 2024 before moving up to the senior circuit.
He acknowledged his qualification round fell short of expectations but said he had taken 'good learnings' from the experience.
Mane credited his coach, team, and parents for helping him develop the scores and mindset needed at senior level.
Parth Mane secured his maiden Asian Games medal on 21 September at the Aichi-Nagoya Games, helping India finish second in the men's 10m air rifle team event to claim silver. The achievement carries added weight for the 21-year-old shooter — it is not only his first Asian Games medal but also his first senior-level medal of any kind.
A milestone moment in a young career
Mane was candid about his qualification round, acknowledging it did not meet his own standards. Yet he refused to let the underwhelming performance define the occasion, choosing instead to draw lessons from it. 'Qualification was not that good, not what I expected but definitely I have taken good learnings from this and the learnings will help me in the next matches,' he said.
The silver is a landmark not just for Mane individually but for his broader journey from junior prodigy to senior competitor. 'It's very important for me, and it's also very special for me because it's my first medal in Asian Games as well as my first-ever senior event medal. So definitely something special for me,' he added.
The junior-to-senior transition
Mane's path to Nagoya has not been without friction. He claimed gold at the Junior World Championship in 2024, but the step up to senior competition brought a sharper challenge — matching scores against more experienced rivals on the international circuit. 'Initially, it was hard for me to reach that score and to compete at the level of senior competitors,' he acknowledged.
This is a familiar crossroads for young Indian shooters who dominate junior events only to find the senior tier demands a recalibration of both technique and mentality. Mane's silver in Nagoya suggests that recalibration is underway.
The support system behind the medal
Mane was emphatic in crediting those around him for bridging the gap between junior excellence and senior competitiveness. 'With the help of my coach and my entire team, I achieved that score. I developed the mindset needed to achieve that score. So my team and my coach have played a very big role in my journey, and my parents have too. My parents have supported me a lot from the start of my journey. They never asked me a single question about anything,' he said.
Asked who he would dedicate the medal to, his answer was immediate: 'Definitely my parents and my coach.'
What the Nagoya silver means going forward
For Indian shooting, Mane's emergence adds a promising name to a pipeline that has produced Olympic and world champions in recent years. The Aichi-Nagoya Games have given him competitive exposure at the highest Asian level, and the experience — including the imperfect qualification — will likely shape how he prepares for future major events. With the learnings from Nagoya in hand, Mane enters the next phase of his senior career with both a medal and a blueprint for improvement.
Point of View
But the more telling detail is his admission that matching senior scores was genuinely hard after his junior world title. India has a well-documented pattern of junior shooting champions who stall at the senior transition — the qualification struggles in Nagoya are a reminder that the pipeline, while productive, is not automatic. A team silver at his first Asian Games is a strong foundation, but the real test will be whether Mane can sustain individual-event performances at this level across the next Olympic cycle.
NationPress
21 Sept 2026
Frequently Asked Questions
What medal did Parth Mane win at the 2026 Asian Games?
Parth Mane won a silver medal in the men's 10m air rifle team event at the Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games on 21 September 2026. It is his first Asian Games medal and his first medal at any senior-level competition.
Who is Parth Mane and what is his background in shooting?
Parth Mane is a 21-year-old Indian rifle shooter who won gold at the Junior World Championship in 2024. After that title he moved up to the senior circuit, where he has been working to match the higher scores demanded at that level.
Why does this silver medal hold special significance for Mane?
The medal is doubly significant — it is both Mane's maiden Asian Games podium finish and the first senior-level medal of his career. He described it as 'very special' given the challenges he faced in transitioning from junior to senior competition.
What did Parth Mane say about his qualification performance at Nagoya?
Mane acknowledged that his qualification round did not meet his own expectations, but said he had taken 'good learnings' from the experience that he expects to apply in future competitions.
Who did Parth Mane dedicate his Asian Games medal to?
Mane dedicated the medal to his parents and his coach, crediting them as the primary forces behind his development — his parents for unwavering support and his coach for helping him build the scores and mindset required at senior level.
