India's shooting performance slides at Asian Games despite Dhanda's gold
India's shooting contingent delivered a disappointing performance at the Asian Games, with the medal tally dropping to 15 from a record 22 in the previous edition held in Hangzhou three years ago. Haryana's Neeru Dhanda's historic trap shooting gold medal — ending India's 48-year wait for an individual trap title — stood out as the bright spot in an otherwise subdued campaign. Her triumph was part of India's 15-medal haul comprising three gold, eight silver, and four bronze medals, leaving the country second only to China's 28 on the shooting medal table.
The decline exposed deeper structural issues within India's rifle and pistol programmes, traditionally the disciplines supplying the country with elite performers. The most glaring drop came in gold medals, with India winning only three compared to seven in the previous edition. Notably, India failed to win a single gold in 'team' events — competitions involving three members of the same gender whose medals are awarded based on combined scores. This inability to convert opportunities revealed a worrying loss of depth. In rifle and pistol disciplines, India secured only four individual medals: Elavenil Valarivan's silver in 10m air rifle, Rudrankksh Patil's bronze and Himanshu Singh's silver in 10m air rifle, and Esha Singh's silver in 25m sports pistol.
The disappointment was particularly pronounced as several household names failed to reach the podium, highlighting the broader performance inconsistency across India's shooting roster.
