New Delhi: India’s shooting contingent made history at the Asian Games in Hangzhou, China, by winning the country’s first gold medal and setting a new world record in the men’s 10-meter air rifle team event on the second day of the competition. The Indian trio of Divyansh Singh Panwar, Aishwarya Pratap Singh Tomar, and Rudrankesh Balasaheb Patil scored a total of 1893.7 points, surpassing the previous record of 1893.3 points held by China. South Korea took the silver medal, while China settled for the bronze with 1888.2 points.
Rudranksh was the top scorer among the Indian shooters with 632.5 points, followed by Aishwarya Tomar with 631.6 points and Divyansh Pawar with 629.6 points. Aishwarya Tomar also clinched the bronze medal in the individual event of the men’s 10-meter air rifle, adding to India’s medal tally.
India’s women shooters also performed well in the 10-meter air rifle event, winning the silver medal in the team category and a bronze medal in the individual category. The team of Ramita, Mehuli Ghosh, and Aashi Choksi scored 1884.9 points, behind China’s 1890.4 points and ahead of South Korea’s 1878.2 points. Ramita also bagged the bronze medal in the individual event with a score of 250.1 points, behind China’s Wang Luyao (251.8 points) and South Korea’s Park Heemoon (250.9 points).
Another bronze medal for India came from the men’s 25m rapid-fire pistol team event, where Vijayveer Sidhu, Adarsh Singh, and Anish Bhanwala scored 1756 points, behind China’s 1762 points and South Korea’s 1759 points.
With these achievements, India has won a total of 10 medals so far in the Asian Games, five each from shooting and rowing. India has one gold, three silver, and six bronze medals, ranking sixth in the medal table. India’s rowers have won two silver medals in the men’s lightweight double sculls and men’s quadruple sculls events, and three bronze medals in the women’s lightweight double sculls, men’s lightweight single sculls, and men’s lightweight four events.