Asian Games 2026: Suruchi Singh, Kamaljeet Shoot Asian Record to Win India’s Second Gold

Suruchi Singh and Kamaljeet gave India its second gold medal at the Asian Games 2026 on Friday, winning the 10m air pistol mixed team event with an Asian-record score of 484.6 points in Aichi-Nagoya, Japan.

The Indian pair led from the opening series and resisted a late South Korean challenge to finish 6.6 points clear. South Korea took silver with 478.0, while Iran secured bronze with 415.8.

Their winning total bettered the previous Asian record of 481.3, set by Uzbekistan at the Asian Shooting Championships in New Delhi earlier this year, by 3.3 points. They finished four points short of the world record.

The victory took India’s medal tally to 19: two golds, eight silvers and nine bronzes. The country’s first gold came in women’s cricket, where India defeated Sri Lanka by 147 runs in the final.

An Early Lead, Then a Korean Challenge

Having topped qualification, Suruchi and Kamaljeet began the final with 103 points in the opening series. South Korea followed on 98.1, narrowly ahead of Iran’s 98.0, with Indonesia fourth on 95.2.

The contest tightened in the second series. India added 99.4 points, while South Korea shot 103.1 to reduce the gap to 1.2 points.

The Indians responded with 101.1 in the third series, taking their total to 303.5. South Korea stood at 300.2, followed by Iran on 295.0 and Indonesia on 291.0.

India Pull Away in the Elimination Stage

Suruchi and Kamaljeet strengthened their position in Stage 2, adding 61.2 points in its first series to reach 364.7 and move 5.8 points ahead of South Korea. Indonesia became the first team eliminated, finishing fourth with 349.4.

India’s next series lifted its total to 424.9 and stretched the advantage to 8.4 points. South Korea, on 416.5, narrowly stayed ahead of Iran, whose campaign ended with bronze at 415.8.

The Koreans reduced the deficit in the final series, but the Indian pair had built enough of a cushion to secure gold and the continental record.

Rifle Team Adds Silver, More Medals Assured

India also won silver in the men’s 50m rifle three positions team event through APS Tomar, Rudrankksh Patil and Niraj Kumar. Tomar and Niraj were also set to contest the individual final.

In table tennis, Diya Chitale and Manush Shah assured India of a mixed doubles medal by defeating Hong Kong’s Wong Chun Ting and Doo Hoi Kem in the quarterfinals.

Joshana Chinappa and Velavan Senthilkumar similarly secured a medal berth in squash, beating the Philippines’ David Pelino and Jemcya Aribado in the mixed doubles quarterfinals.

Swimmers Advance to Finals

Sajan Prakash qualified for the men’s 200m butterfly final after finishing third in his heat. Rishabh Das and Utkarsh Patil also progressed to the men’s 200m backstroke final.

In badminton, Dhruv Kapila and Tanisha Crasto advanced in mixed doubles with victory over the Maldives’ Aminath Abdul Razzaq and Nibal Ahmed.

Elsewhere, Prohit Baroi and Prasanna Kumar reached Final B in the men’s kayak double 500m, while India’s women’s kayak four finished eighth. Megha Pradeep and Neha Leichonbam exited the women’s canoe double 500m.

India’s men’s and women’s fencing teams were eliminated in the round of 16, while Harmeet Desai and Yashaswini Ghorpade lost their table tennis quarterfinal.

Swimmers Dhanush Suresh, Aneesh Sunil and Dhakshan Shashikumar did not advance. In athletics, Anamika Aneesh and Pooja stood seventh and ninth respectively in the women’s heptathlon standings.

With inputs from ANI