Asian Games 2026: Suruchi, Kamaljeet win gold in 10m air pistol mixed team, set Games record

Mangalore Today News Network

Japan, Sep 25, 2026: India finally had something to celebrate in the 10m air pistol events at the Asian Games 2026, and it came from a pairing that was only put together at the last minute. Suruchi Singh and Kamaljeet combined for a dominant performance to win gold in the 10m air pistol mixed team event on Friday, setting a new Asian Games record in the process.

Their gold was India’s first in shooting at the Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games and the country’s second overall, after the women’s cricket team had opened India’s gold-medal account.

The timing of the medal made it all the more significant for the Indian 10m air pistol contingent, which had endured a disappointing campaign until Friday. India had won gold in the men’s 10m air pistol team event and gold and silver in the women’s individual event at the previous Asian Games, but there had been no medal in the discipline this time around.

Even Manu Bhaker, the Olympic medallist and one of India’s biggest hopes, had missed out on the podium after reaching the women’s 10m air pistol final. India also failed to win medals in the men’s and women’s team events.

The mixed team event was therefore the final opportunity to salvage something from the 10m air pistol campaign. The National Rifle Association of India made a bold call before the event, changing the designated men’s shooter in the pairing with Suruchi.

Kedarling Balakrishna Uchaganve had initially been named alongside Suruchi. But after Thursday’s men’s qualification, where Kamaljeet was India’s best performer with 580 points and finished ninth, just one point short of the individual final, the NRAI opted to bring him into the mixed team combination.

Kedarling, meanwhile, had endured a difficult qualification round, finishing 35th with 568 points.

The change could hardly have worked better.

A DOMINANT ASIAN GAMES RECORD

Kamaljeet and Suruchi stormed into the medal round after topping qualification with 587 points, including 29 inner 10s. They began with 196 in the opening series before adding 195 in the second to reach 391 with 20 shots remaining. Another 196 in the third series took them to 587 and ensured their place in the final.

And once there, they pulled away from the field.

The Indian pair finished with 484.6 points, a remarkable 6.6 points clear of South Korea’s Suhyeon Hong and Gaeun Choo, who took silver with 478.0. Iran won bronze with 415.8.

The margin was striking in a sport where medals are often decided by tiny differences. India were also only 3.8 points short of the world record.

It was a remarkable turnaround for both shooters, who had endured disappointing individual campaigns only a day earlier. Kamaljeet had come agonisingly close to the men’s individual final, missing out by a single point, while Suruchi finished 26th in the women’s qualification and did not make the final.

Instead, the two found themselves together in an event that neither had originally been designated to contest as a pair.

They responded by producing their best shooting of the Games, and ensured the wait for the Gold medal from the shooting range did not extend beyond the sixth day of the Asian Games.