Asian Shooting C'ships 2025: Indian rifle shooters power India to record medal haul- Review

Indian shooters have displayed tremendous success on the international circuit over the years, and now they reaffirmed their dominance with 30-plus medals at the 2025 Asian Championships in Shymkent, Kazakhstan.

With this massive medal haul of 31 — 14 Gold, 8 Silver, 9 Bronze medals, India has also scripted their best ever medal tally at these continental showdowns, finishing second on the medal table just behind China.

India has long been recognized for its rifle shooting, but recent years have seen some inconsistency. However, their remarkable haul of six gold medals in rifle events at this event marked a strong outing.

Additionally, four of these six gold medals were in the Olympics categories won by Aishwary Pratap Singh Tomar (50m 3P), Sift Kaur Samra (50m 3P), Elavenil Valarivan (Air Rifle), and the Air rifle mixed team.

The other two gold medals were in the team events - Air Rifle Men's Team and Women's 50m 3P Team - showcasing the rising depth across categories in the domestic circuit of India.

Difficult campaign for Pistol Team

Indian pistol shooters secured four gold medals at the 2025 Asian Championships in Shymkent, Kazakhstan, but the campaign was still deemed disappointing as none of the golds were in Olympic events.

India earned only three medals in the Olympic pistol categories, where Anish Bhanwala (25m Rapid Fire) won a silver, and Manu Bhaker (Air Pistol) and Air Pistol Mixed Team clinched bronze medals.

Manu clinched the bronze medal in the air pistol event, but except that other pistol shooters struggled to find their form, resulting in India finishing second to China in the overall pistol medal standings.

On the contrary, the Indian shotgun team has a success rate in Shymkent, winning two of the four gold medals in Individual Olympic events through Anantjeet Singh Naruka (Men’s Skeet) and Neeru (Women’s Trap).

This tournament served as a crucial trial for Indian shooters ahead of the World Championships, where they will face top global competitors, allowing the team to identify key areas for improvement.

List of Individual Asian Champions 2025

Anantjeet Singh Naruka - Skeet Men

Aishwary Pratap Singh Tomar - 50m Rifle 3 Positions Men

Neeru Dhanda - Trap Women

Sift Kaur Samra - 50m Rifle 3 Positions Women

Elavenil Valarivan - 10m Air Rifle Women

Ankur Mittal - Double Trap Men

Gurpreet Singh - 25m Standard Pistol Men

Rajkanwar Singh Sandhu - 25m Center Fire Pistol Men