India’s shooting stars shine again as men’s 10m air rifle team wins silver

India’s shooting campaign at the Asian Games 2026 continued to sparkle on Monday as the men’s 10m air rifle trio of Himanshu Dhillon, Parth Mane and Rudrankksh Patil clinched the silver medal, taking the country’s tally to three medals.

Rudrankksh led the charge with a composed 631.8 in the 60-shot qualification round to finish third, while Himanshu posted 630.0 for seventh place and Parth added 628.3. Together, the three shooters amassed 1890.1 points to secure the silver.

China struck gold with a world-record score of 1899.0, while South Korea finished third with 1884.2 to take the bronze.

For Rudrankksh, the medal added another glittering chapter to his Asian Games journey. He had previously won gold in the men’s 10m air rifle team event at the Hangzhou Games in 2023, and once again found himself on the podium in the same discipline.

Rudrankksh and Himanshu also kept their individual medal hopes alive, advancing to the men’s 10m air rifle final after finishing among the top eight in qualification.

The silver continued India’s strong opening in the shooting arena. On Sunday, Elavenil Valarivan had returned with two silver medals, finishing runner-up in the women’s 10m air rifle individual event after helping India secure silver in the team competition.

The individual silver was Elavenil’s first Asian Games medal. She had made her Asian Games debut at Jakarta 2018 as a teenager but failed to make the women’s 10m air rifle final.

Elavenil, who holds the Asian record of 253.6 set while winning the continental title in Shymkent last year, successfully defended her Asian Championships crown at the 2026 edition in New Delhi.

With three silver medals already in the bag, shooting has accounted for India’s entire medal haul so far at the 2026 Asian Games.

India’s shooters had enjoyed a historic campaign at the previous Asian Games in Hangzhou, winning seven gold, nine silver and six bronze medals for a record-breaking total of 22 medals.

With IANS inputs