Indian shooters brought the curtain down on the 16th Asian Shooting Championship in Shymkent, Kazakhstan, with a record-breaking performance. They finished their campaign with 99 medals, including 50 golds — their most successful outing in the continental championship’s history.
The final day belonged to 33-year-old Ankur Mittal, who delivered a world record-breaking performance in Men’s Double Trap. The seasoned shotgunner was in imperious form, hitting 107 targets across four rounds to set a new world mark and claim the gold — his third Asian title after victories in Al Ain 2014 and Astana 2017. He finished well ahead of home favourite Artyom Chikulayev (98) and Kuwait’s Ahmad Alaffasi (96), who took silver and bronze. Later, Mittal joined Bhanu Pratap Singh and Harshvardhan Kaviya to secure a team bronze in the same event.
India’s golden streak continued in the Men’s 25m Centre Fire Pistol, where Rajkanwar Singh Sandhu produced a clinical display to claim individual gold with 583 points, narrowly edging Republic of Korea’s Lee Jaekyoon (580) and Iran’s Javad Foroughi (579). Veteran Gurpreet Singh also scored 579 but missed out on the podium on countback. The trio of Sandhu, Gurpreet Singh, and Ankur Goel combined for 1733 points to clinch the team gold, finishing ahead of Vietnam (1720) and Iran (1700).
On the rifle range, Manini Kaushik fought hard to win bronze in the Women’s 50m Rifle Prone with a score of 617.8, just behind South Korea’s Im Hana and Lee Eunseo (both 620.2). Though Sift Kaur Samra (617.9) and Korea’s Yelin Choi (620.1) scored higher, they were competing for ranking points only (RPO) and were ineligible for medals. Alongside Surabhi Bhardwaj and Vidarsa Vinod, Kaushik also helped India secure the team silver in the event.
The day ended on a historic note as India swept the podium in Women’s Double Trap. Anushka Singh Bhati (93) claimed gold, Rajkuwar Pranil Ingle (89) took silver, and Yeshaya Hafiz Contractor (87) sealed bronze, showcasing India’s growing depth in shotgun disciplines.
With 99 total medals, India improved by 35 from their previous campaign in Changwon, marking a remarkable performance on the continental stage. Hosts Kazakhstan finished second with 70 medals, followed by China in third with 37 medals. However, the senior Indian team, with six gold medals, finished behind China, who claimed eight gold medals.