‘I just feel very grateful’: Maheshwari Chauhan celebrates India’s historic skeet bronze

Nagoya, Sep 23 (SocialNews.XYZ) Indian shooter Maheshwari Chauhan said she felt “very grateful” after India’s women’s skeet team secured a bronze medal at the Asian Games 2026, calling the podium finish a landmark moment for the trio and the country.

“I just feel very grateful, because this is a first for India. I think all three of us are very fortunate that we got this opportunity to perform, first and foremost, for our country, and to finish with a medal. Of course, there is still a lot of work left, but there is a long way to go, and it definitely feels good and very fortunate,” Maheshwari told IANS after the event.

Maheshwari, Raiza Dhillon and Parinaaz Dhaliwal shot a total of 331 in the qualification rounds to finish third on the podium. China’s Che Yufei, Jian Yiting and Jiang Chaoyu took gold with 347, Kazakhstan’s Assem Orynbay, Zoya Piskun and Adel Sadakbayeva took silver with 336.

Raiza said the team had entered the competition expecting to challenge for a medal after a strong period of preparation.

“We are all very happy. We expected a medal because our training was going really well. This is a landmark victory for us and for our country. So, we are all very happy and very proud of ourselves,” she said.

The bronze medal took India’s shooting tally at the Asian Games to seven, comprising four silver and two bronze medals.

At the previous edition in Hangzhou, India’s shooters had produced a record haul of 22 medals, including seven gold, nine silver and six bronze.

But on Wednesday, neither Raiza Dhillon nor Parinaaz Dhaliwal could win individual medals, finishing in the fourth and eighth spots, respectively. Both shooters posted 111/125 in the qualification rounds to make the final, with Raiza qualifying eighth and Parinaaz ninth. But the Indian duo could not replicate their qualification form in the final and ended outside the medal positions in the individual event.

Source: IANS