Asian Games: From Golden Run in Hangzhou to Gold Drought in Nagoya- What’s Holding India’s Shooting Momentum?

New Delhi, Sep 24: India’s shooting campaign at the Asian Games 2026 has entered an uncomfortable phase. After five days of competition, the country has managed four silver and three bronze medals and has been bereft of any gold medal. This comes as a sharp contrast to the dominant performances showcased by Indian shooters on the back of the ‘Guns for Glory’ program of India.

In Hangzhou, India won a total of 22 medals from shooting, including a total of 7 gold medals. But this time the performance has been far from satisfactory.

Thursday’s men’s 10m air pistol qualification exposed the problem in stark numbers. Kamaljeet finished ninth with 580, missing the eight-shooter final by a single point, while Aakash Bhardwaj was 11th with 579. Kedarling Uchaganve’s 568 left him 35th.

Collectively, India’s 1727 was enough for fourth place, three points behind Japan’s bronze-medal total of 1730.

The result was not simply a case of narrowly missing a medal. It highlighted a recurring issue: India’s leading shooters have struggled to convert qualification performances into decisive results. Kamaljeet and Bhardwaj were close enough to remain in contention, but neither could produce the extra scores required when the margin for error became minimal.

Kedarling’s performance illustrated a different problem: the inability to recover when a competition begins to go wrong. The Army shooter struggled almost from the start, repeatedly dropping points before changing his pistol settings in an attempt to find a solution. The adjustments failed to arrest his slide, and an eight in his final sequence effectively ended India’s team-medal hopes.

There was also a clear pressure component. Shooting is a sport in which a single poor series can alter an entire team’s position. As Kedarling’s scores dipped, the pressure intensified. Japan remained within striking distance and eventually moved into the bronze position when the Indian shooter faltered.

Manu, Esha & Suruchi’s Formidable Trio Failed To Make The Mark

The previous day had produced a similar warning. Manu Bhaker, Esha Singh and Suruchi Singh, a formidable women’s 10m air pistol combination, also failed to reach the final.

The back-to-back qualification setbacks suggest that India’s problems cannot simply be attributed to one athlete having an off day. That makes the role of preparation and performance management particularly relevant.

Beauchamp Declines To Comment On India’s Shooting Performance

High Performance Director Pierre Beauchamp, who oversees India’s data-driven shooting system, was put on the spot when asked to analyse the team’s performance over the past two days.
Beauchamp, however, declined to offer an immediate assessment. “I cannot speak right now. I will only talk after India’s competition at the Games is over,” he said.

That silence also points to an important distinction: the reasons for India’s struggles cannot yet be conclusively identified from results alone. A proper assessment will have to examine technical execution, equipment adjustments, pressure management, shot-by-shot data and preparation in the context of the entire competition.

For now, the numbers tell a clear story. India has still collected seven shooting medals, but five days without a gold and repeated failures to reach finals in events featuring established names indicate a gap between potential and performance.

The question, therefore, that lingers at such a crucial juncture is whether the Indian team has world-class shooters in their arsenal; it is whether the high-performance support staff can reduce the margin of error at crunch moments.