Naruka, Khan, Gill shoot India to Men’s Skeet Team Bronze in tense Shoot-Off; Naruka narrowly misses out on bronze

Ranvir Singh

Aichi-Nagoya (Japan) : India’s men’s skeet team of Anantjeet Singh Naruka, Mairaj Ahmed Khan, and Bhavtegh Singh Gill won bronze at the Asian Games, finishing level with Kazakhstan on 346 points before prevailing in a tense shoot-off to claim the medal.

Naruka led the Indian effort in qualification with 119 out of a possible 125, with Mairaj Ahmed Khan adding 116 and Bhavtegh Singh Gill contributing 111 to the team’s combined total. With Kazakhstan matching India’s tally, the bronze medal came down to a shoot-off, which the Indian trio won to secure the podium finish.

The result marked India’s second shooting bronze of the day, following the women’s skeet team medal earlier in the session, and extended the country’s strong run in the discipline through the Games.

Naruka’s individual qualification form also carried him into the men’s skeet individual final, where he narrowly missed out on a second medal of the day. Qatar’s Al-Athba took gold with an Asian Record of 34, ahead of China’s Lyu Jianlin on 33 for silver, while Chinese Taipei’s Lee claimed bronze with 29. Naruka finished fourth on 25/28, agonisingly falling a single point short of the podium — a heartbreaking end to what had otherwise been a standout day for the Indian skeet shooters.