Nagoya: Indian shooters Kamaljeet and Suruchi Singh delivered a masterclass in composure and precision on Friday, securing India’s first shooting gold medal at the Asian Games Aichi–Nagoya 2026 while shattering the Games record in the 10m Air Pistol Mixed Team event.
The Haryana pair posted an outstanding score of 484.6 in the medal round to claim top honours, finishing 6.6 points ahead of South Korea’s Suhyeon Hong and Gaeun Choo, who took silver with 478.0. Iran rounded out the podium to take bronze with 415.8 points. The triumph provided India with its second overall gold of the continental games and capped a dominant rebound for both competitors after tough outings in their individual campaigns.
The Indian Army praised the shooters for their exceptional performance, commending the duo for bringing pride to the nation and marking a major milestone for Army sports. Kamaljeet, a 23-year-old Havildar recruited through the sports quota, hails from the Rewari district of Haryana. His journey to the top of the podium follows a dramatic career pivot: originally a track-and-field competitor, Kamaljeet took up shooting in 2019 after a severe auto-rickshaw collision fractured his thigh bone and sidelined his running aspirations.
Kamaljeet hone his craft under the Army Marksmanship Unit (AMU) based in Mhow near Indore, an elite training facility backed by the Army Sports Institute’s Mission Olympics programme alongside the Sports Authority of India. The facility has historically produced top Olympic and international medal-winners, including Rajyavardhan Singh Rathore, Vijay Kumar, Preeti Rajak, and Chain Singh.
Nineteen-year-old Suruchi Singh, who hails from Jhajjar district, has similarly deep roots in national service and sport as the daughter of Army veteran Naik Inder Singh. Although her family initially encouraged her toward wrestling, an injury led her to competitive shooting at age 13 at the Guru Dronacharya Shooting Academy in Bhiwani. During pandemic disruptions, she sustained her progress at a makeshift shooting setup before compiling seven national titles in 2024 and collecting multiple gold medals across International Shooting Sport Federation competitions in Lima, Buenos Aires, and Munich.
