Aichi-Nagoya: Indian shooters Himanshu Dhillon and Rudrankksh Patil delivered a strong performance at the Asian Games 2026, winning silver and bronze medals respectively in the men’s 10m air rifle individual event on Monday. China’s Sheng Lihao claimed the gold medal after a closely contested final.
Rudrankksh began the competition impressively, taking the early lead with 52.8 points in the opening series. He extended his advantage with a score of 53.2 in the second series, moving 1.1 points ahead of the field. Himanshu remained in medal contention, briefly moving into second place as the competition progressed.
After 12 shots, Rudrankksh led with 127.4 points, followed by Himanshu at 126.6 and Sheng at 126.3.
The battle remained tightly contested, with Sheng moving into first place after 16 shots. Rudrankksh and Himanshu were separated by just 0.2 points. Himanshu produced a 10.9 to close the gap but later dropped to third following a 9.8.
Sheng maintained his lead through the final stages. Rudrankksh was eliminated after 22 shots, finishing on 230.9, narrowly behind Himanshu’s 231.0. Sheng eventually secured gold with 233.0, while Himanshu finished with silver.
India also won silver in the men’s 10m air rifle team event. Rudrankksh, Parth Mane and Himanshu recorded 1890.1 points, finishing behind China’s 1899.0. South Korea took bronze.
Elsewhere, Aadhya Tiwari and Jay Meena advanced to the soft tennis mixed doubles round of 16 after finishing second in Group B.
In swimming, Srihari Nataraj qualified for the men’s 50m backstroke final. India also defeated Pakistan 3-0 in the women’s table tennis team event, while athletes in wushu and other swimming disciplines competed in their respective events.
