Daijiworld Media Network - New Delhi

New Delhi, Aug 28: Rio Olympian Gurpreet Singh clinched his maiden international gold medal in the 25m Standard Pistol event at the 16th Asian Shooting Championship in Shymkent, Kazakhstan, helping India cross the 80-medal mark. His performance, alongside silver medalist Amanpreet Singh, contributed to India’s swelling tally of 82 medals—44 gold, 20 silver, and 18 bronze.

Both shooters recorded identical scores of 572, but Gurpreet edged ahead due to a higher number of inner 10s (18 compared to Amanpreet’s 11), securing the top podium finish. Their combined effort with Harsh Gupta earned India the team gold with a score of 1709. This victory marked a full-circle moment for Gurpreet, who had previously won bronze in the same event 12 years ago in Tehran.

India’s junior shooters also excelled in the same event. Suraj Sharma bagged the silver with a score of 571-12x, while Tanishq Naidu followed with a bronze after shooting 568-11x. Together with Mukesh Nelavalli, they secured the junior team gold with a combined total of 1703-39x.

In the 50m Rifle Prone category, Indian shooters did not secure individual medals, but the junior men’s team of Sami Ullah Khan, Adriyan Karmakar, and Kushagra Singh Rajawat won the team gold with a total score of 1844.3. Among the seniors, Parikshit Singh Brar placed seventh with a score of 617.1, while others finished further down the rankings.

With the final events scheduled for Friday, including the 50m Rifle Prone Women, 25m Centre Fire Pistol Men, and Junior Men’s events, India stands poised to further improve its already impressive medal tally in the concluding day of the championship.