It took six days for India's first shooting gold medal at the 2026 Asian Games, but it couldn't have come at a better time. Suruchi Singh and Kamaljeet, who yesterday had failed to reach the final in their individual events, dominated the 10m air pistol mixed team event to win the gold.
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Given the previous day's results, the pressure was immense on these two young shooters, not just to win a medal but also salvage India's air pistol campaign. This is the event of Saurabh Chaudhary and Esha Singh, of last Asiad champion Palak Gulia and reigning world champion Samrat Rana, of Olympic medallists Manu Bhaker and Sarabjot Singh. A gold here is expected, and they delivered.
Suruchi and Kamaljeet's career paths are as different from each other as possible.
Suruchi, at only 20 years of age, is the world no. 3 with six gold medals at ISSF level since last year and one of the most exciting young talents in Indian shooting. Kamaljeet is older at 23, was a former world junior champion in 50m pistol back in 2023 but fell off the radar in India's extremely competitive national scene and is ranked 83rd in the world.
Together, they delivered a timely and much-needed reminder of why Indian shooting's young guns are considered world beaters even when making their major debut. The world ranking aside, the level of national competition and standards of the selection policy are so high, that every shooter who represents India is capable of big things on their day.
So, when the individual and team events came and went without a single medal, the knives (or guns, in this case) were already out against the shooters and the selection policy that focuses only on current numbers and not past or pedigree.
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A closer look at the moment Kamaljeet and Suruchi Inder Singh made history at Asian Games 2026.
The Indian duo delivered a 484.6 to win Gold in the 10m Air Pistol Mixed Team event, setting a new Asian Record in the process.
Here are the... pic.twitter.com/R3rIlLBhCS
- SAI Media (@Media_SAI) September 25, 2026
Kamaljeet was a rookie who does better in 50m pistol, Suruchi had fumbled her debut event, ISSF World Cups don't matter here. The two Haryana youngsters were carrying so much more than just their pistol and medal expectations when they stepped on the range at Aichi-Nagoya. Kamaljeet looked visibly stressed during the final, despite the lead, and even cancelled a couple of shots when his aim was teetering. But Suruchi Inder Singh Phogat was the opposite. She was a picture of calm, taking sips of water when the time allowed, looking as unruffled as ever.
The 20-year-old from Sasroli village in Haryana's Jhajjar district -- where Manu also comes from -- is different, even in India's pantheon of teenager stars. At 18, she dominated the national level sweeping up all three women's air pistol golds at the nationals, the National Games gold and the selection trials, beating her idol and double Olympic medallist Manu Bhaker, then Asian Games champion Palak Gulia, Olympian Esha Singh among others. She translated this on her first year on the international circuit in 2025, she swept first three ISSF World Cup golds, adding a mixed double bronze and gold with former Asian champion Saurabh Chaudhary.
But later in the year, she struggled on her World Championship debut, missing out on the final and finishing 14th is what was a shock result for the breakthrough season she had.
The nerves were probably there on her Asian Games debut as well when she shot only 568 in the individual qualification with a series as low as 93. These were unexpected numbers from Suruchi, whose numbers have been in the 580s regularly. So, she wasn't nerveless after all.
At the other end was Kamaljeet, who was never called a prodigy or potential champion. If anything, the former track-and-field athlete from Rewari was called the wrong choice when reigning world champion Samrat and Olympic medallist Sarabjot were not selected. His best results have come in the 50m pistol and while he finished in the top three in the national trials and earned his Asiad spot, the questions remained. Sure, he was the best shooter in the individual event among fellow rookies Kedarling Uchaganve and Akash Bhardwaj, but there was always a thought of whether he belonged. He was not even the first choice for the mixed team, but promoted just yesterday.
At the moment that mattered though, the track record of Suruchi and tenacity of Kamaljeet combined to become the best in Asia. The NRAI selection policy and Indian shooting's faith in the process resulted in the first shooting gold of the campaign. Whatever questions had been asked were answered on the day with a gold medal -- won under pressure and won convincingly.