Anantjeet-Parinaaz clinch historic skeet mixed-team bronze for India
Anantjeet Singh Naruka and Parinaaz Dhaliwal combined to win a historic bronze in the skeet mixed-team event at the Asian Games here on Thursday, securing India's first medal in the event and completing a three-medal haul for the country in skeet across two days.
The bronze also marked India's third medal in the three skeet team events at the Games, following the men's and women's team bronzes won on Wednesday.
Anantjeet, Bhavtegh Singh Gill and Mairaj Ahmed Khan had won the men's team bronze before Parinaaz, Raiza Dhillon and Maheshwari Chauhan secured the women's team bronze later in the day.
The mixed-team pair had to overcome a challenging final, with gusty winds making conditions difficult at the range.
Anantjeet and Parinaaz entered the four-team final in fourth place after shooting 138 in qualification. Anantjeet hit 70 of 75 targets, while Parinaaz scored 68.
Qatar topped qualification with 145, followed by South Korea at 143 and China at 140.
The scores, however, were wiped out for the final, with all four teams starting afresh in a series of elimination rounds.
Qatar, despite topping qualification, were eliminated first after Rashed Saleh and Reema Ghanem struggled in their opening 12 shots each, guaranteeing India at least a bronze.
India began the final strongly, hitting 21 of 24 targets, while China led with 23 and South Korea were on 22.
The pressure increased in the next round as intermittent gusts swept across the range. India responded with a strong 23 hits out of 24, with Naruka missing just once, taking their aggregate to 44.
That was enough to secure the bronze but not to advance to the gold-medal round.
China eventually won gold with 52, while South Korea took silver with 51. India finished with 44.
For Parinaaz, 24, the medal was her second bronze of the Games after the women's team event on Wednesday. The Patiala shooter had earlier chosen to focus on skeet shooting instead of pursuing higher studies abroad.
Parinaaz, who missed the women's team medal at the 2023 Hangzhou Asian Games, credited the pair's aggressive approach and their constant encouragement for helping them cope with the pressure.
"We were aggressive. We just kept telling each other to keep fighting. That's what mixed team is about," she said.
For Anantjeet, 28, the bronze was particularly significant. The Jaipur shooter has won a World Cup Final bronze in Delhi and finished fourth with Maheshwari Chauhan in the mixed team event at the Paris 2024 Olympics.
"This one ranks highest. In the Olympics you are coming fourth, but if you're not standing on the podium it does not matter. We fought well and got the bronze today," he said.
