North India Statesman
Indian shotgun shooters delivered another notable performance on the continental stage at the 20th Asian Games in Aichi-Nagoya, Japan, securing the bronze medal in the women’s skeet team event. The Indian contingent—comprising Olympian Raiza Dhillon, Ganemat Sekhon, and Maheshwari Chauhan—demonstrated consistent marksmanship across two days of qualifying rounds to step onto the podium. While the collective effort brought cheer to the Indian camp, teen sensation Raiza Dhillon endured individual heartbreak, narrowly missing out on a second medal after finishing fourth in a high-stakes, nerve-wracking individual final.
Collective Sharp-Shooting Secures Team Bronze for India
The Indian women’s skeet trio showcased calm composure across five demanding qualification series, racking up a cumulative team score of 336 out of a possible 375 targets. Nineteen-year-old Raiza Dhillon led the charge with an outstanding score of 115 hits, while seasoned international competitors Ganemat Sekhon and Maheshwari Chauhan contributed resilient rounds of 112 and 109 targets, respectively.
Their combined total comfortably edged out regional contenders to seal the third spot on the podium. Hosts Japan set a blistering pace on their home range to claim the gold medal with a record team score of 348, while traditional shooting heavyweights China took silver with 344 points. The bronze medal continues India’s rich tradition of continental shotgun success, reinforcing the country’s growing depth in clay target events.
Raiza Dhillon Advances to Individual Final Following Tense Shoot-Off
Raiza Dhillon’s personal campaign was marked by determination against world-class opposition. Her qualifying tally of 115 placed her in a multi-way tie for the final qualification spots, forcing a sudden-death shoot-off to determine the six finalists. Demonstrating nerves of steel, the Haryana-born shooter struck her targets with surgical precision to outlast her rivals and book her berth in the 60-shot medal round. Fellow Indian shooters Ganemat Sekhon and Maheshwari Chauhan bowed out in the preliminary phase, finishing 9th and 14th in the overall individual rankings, leaving Raiza as India’s lone contender in the final showdown.
Heartbreak in the Final: Raiza Bows Out in 4th Position
The individual final proved to be an unforgiving battle from the very first rotation. Competing alongside Olympic and World Championship medalists from China, South Korea, and Japan, Raiza kept herself firmly in medal contention through the initial elimination rounds, successfully hitting 32 of her first 40 targets.
However, as the field narrowed to the final four competitors, a couple of missed clays on the challenging Station 4 proved costly under the elimination format. Raiza was eliminated just shy of the podium places, concluding her individual campaign in a valiant fourth place. The gold medal was claimed by China’s world-record holder, while Japan and South Korea walked away with silver and bronze, respectively.
Indian Shooting Fraternity Hails Emerging Shotgun Talent
Despite missing out on individual hardware, Raiza’s dual top-four showing at such a young age earned widespread admiration from coaches and national sports authorities. Having already represented the nation at the Paris 2024 Olympic Games and won silver at the Asian Championships, the young shooter’s maturity under intense pressure marks her as a key pillar for India’s long-term Olympic roadmap. Team manager and coaching staff commended the trio’s disciplined teamwork, emphasizing that the bronze-medal performance will provide immense momentum for the mixed skeet team events scheduled later in the Asian Games calendar.
