Asian Games: Suruchi-Kamaljeet Gold Lifts India as Medal Hunt Gathers Pace

Latest update, September 26: India’s Asian Games campaign received its biggest lift yet from a precise, composed performance by Suruchi Singh and Kamaljeet Singh in the mixed 10m air-pistol event. Their gold has become the centrepiece of a shooting campaign that has produced medals consistently, even if the conversion rate at the top of the podium remains a work in progress.

Following Saturday’s results, including gold medals for India’s men’s and women’s kabaddi teams, the country’s latest confirmed overall tally is 28 medals: four gold, 11 silver and 13 bronze. The count remains fluid as events continue across Aichi-Nagoya.

How Suruchi and Kamaljeet won gold

Suruchi and Kamaljeet entered the mixed pistol final after topping qualification with 587 points. They maintained their advantage in the medal round, combining for 484.6 points to finish ahead of South Korea’s Choo Gaeun and Hong Suhyeon, who scored 478.0. Iran completed the podium.

The result carried extra significance because the Indian pistol contingent had endured difficult individual events earlier in the programme. Neither the women’s nor men’s 10m air-pistol competitions produced an individual medal for India, and the men had also finished outside the team podium places. The mixed pairing therefore had to reset quickly and deliver under a different format.

Suruchi supplied a succession of high-value shots while Kamaljeet stayed controlled through the decisive stages. Their combined consistency separated India from the field and secured the country’s second gold medal of the Games at that point, following the women’s cricket title.

Shooting remains India’s medal engine

India’s shooters have now collected 11 medals — one gold, six silver and four bronze. That makes shooting the contingent’s most productive sport by total medals so far.

The wider return includes team and individual success across air rifle, pistol, rifle three positions and skeet. On September 25, the men’s 50m rifle three positions team of Aishwary Pratap Singh Tomar, Rudrankksh Patil and Niraj Kumar added silver. A day later, Tilottama Sen, Vidarsa Vinod and Ashi Chouksey won the women’s team silver in the same discipline.

The pattern is clear: India has repeatedly reached podium level, but China’s depth has made gold medals difficult to secure. Suruchi and Kamaljeet’s victory broke that sequence and provided the shooting squad with momentum before the remaining pistol and trap events.

India’s latest medal picture

• Gold: 4
• Silver: 11
• Bronze: 13
• Total: 28

India began September 26 with 23 medals. Sawan Barwal added silver in the men’s marathon, the women’s 50m rifle three positions team earned another silver, and Joshna Chinappa and Velavan Senthilkumar took mixed doubles squash bronze. The women’s kabaddi team then defeated Iran 37-34 for gold before the men completed an Indian kabaddi double by overcoming Iran in their final.

What to watch next: September 27

All times below are in Indian Standard Time and may change with competition updates.

• 5:30am to 12:30pm — Shooting: The men’s and women’s trap competitors begin qualification.
• 6am to noon — Women’s 25m pistol: Manu Bhaker, Esha Singh and Rahi Sarnobat contest the precision stage. Rapid qualification and the medal final follow on September 28.
• 12:30pm onwards — Squash: India has finalists in the singles programme, with Anahat Singh scheduled to challenge Malaysia’s Sivasangari Subramaniam in the women’s final at approximately 1:30pm.
• Evening — Athletics: India’s programme includes the closing stages of the combined events and further track and field finals, subject to qualification.

Major Indian medal prospects still to come

Manu Bhaker, Esha Singh and Rahi Sarnobat form a powerful 25m pistol line-up, offering India both team and individual possibilities on September 28. The trap teams and individual shooters will move through qualification before finals on September 29, followed by the mixed trap competition.

In athletics, Jyothi Yarraji, Parul Chaudhary and Tejaswin Shankar are among the leading names to follow, while India will also target medals in the distance races and relays. Anahat’s squash final provides a more immediate opportunity after her five-game semifinal comeback against home favourite Satomi Watanabe.

Archery, hockey, wrestling, badminton, track cycling and men’s cricket remain important later in the programme. India’s medal pace is rising, but converting more finals into gold will determine how far the contingent can climb before the Games conclude on October 4.