Indian Shooters Miss Skeet Mixed Team Bronze by a Point at Paris Olympics

Maheshwari Chauhan and Anant Jeet Singh Naruka missed a bronze medal in the skeet mixed team competition at the Paris Olympics by just one point, losing to China. Despite their impressive performances, India finished fourth in the event.

The Indian shooting pair of Maheshwari Chauhan and Anant Jeet Singh Naruka missed a bronze medal in the skeet mixed team competition at the ongoing Paris Olympics by the barest of margins, losing to China by just one point on Monday. Maheshwari and Anant Jeet were narrowly defeated by China's Jiang Yiting and Lyu Jianlin with a score of 43-44, as reported by Olympics.com.

Earlier in the match, the Chinese shooters missed three consecutive hits, providing India with an opportunity to take the lead. However, India couldn't capitalize, and with the scores tied, 47 out of the last 48 shots were successful. A miss by Maheshwari ultimately handed the bronze medal to China.

The Indian pair performed strongly in the qualification round, scoring 146 out of 150. Maheshwari impressed by shooting a perfect 50 out of 50 in her final two rounds, while Naruka recorded scores of 25, 23, and 24 across the three rounds. Despite finishing fourth in qualification, India has secured three medals in shooting at the Paris 2024 Olympics, all of which are bronze.

Manu Bhaker kicked off India's medal tally with a bronze in the women's 10m air pistol event, becoming the nation's first-ever female shooter to win an Olympic medal in this discipline. Subsequently, Sarabjot Singh and Bhaker clinched another bronze in the 10m air pistol mixed team event, marking India's first medal in team shooting.

On Thursday, Swapnil Kusale also captured a bronze in the men's 50m rifle 3P event, making history as the first Indian shooter to win a medal in this category at the Olympics.

Following Kusale's achievement, the Indian shooting team delivered its best-ever Olympic performance. India's previous best in shooting was at the 2012 London Olympics, where Vijay Kumar won a silver in the men's 25m rapid-fire pistol, and Gagan Narang took bronze in the men's 10m air rifle event.

India's journey in Olympic shooting began with Rajyavardhan Singh Rathore, who won a silver in the men's double trap at the 2004 Athens Olympics. This triumph was followed by Abhinav Bindra's historic gold in the men's 10m air rifle event at the Beijing Olympics, marking India's first individual gold medal in any sport.