"Good team effort helped us finish on podium": Maheshwari after women’s skeet bronze at Asiad

Indian skeet shooter Maheshwari Chauhan expressed happiness after winning the women’s skeet team bronze medal at the Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games 2026, saying the podium finish was the result of a strong team effort despite challenging conditions.

By Vipul Kashyap Indian skeet shooter Maheshwari Chauhan expressed happiness after winning the women’s skeet team bronze medal at the Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games 2026, saying the podium finish was the result of a strong team effort despite challenging conditions.

Maheshwari, along with Raiza Dhillon and Parinaaz Dhaliwal, secured the bronze medal in the women’s skeet team event on Wednesday, marking India’s first-ever medal in the category at the Asian Games. Speaking to ANI after the achievement, Maheshwari said the team was pleased to return with a medal, although they aimed for a better finish.

"I feel very fortunate, and very happy that we're part of the team to be winning a medal. I think it was a good team effort that we could finish on the podium. It wasn't our best performances, but the conditions were tough, the range wasn't easy, so I'm glad that we could put up a strong fight. And I think we're not totally satisfied with the color of the medal, but we're happy to be going back with a medal for sure," she told ANI. The Indian shooter also backed the country’s shooting contingent to add more medals in the ongoing Asian Games, saying the team has experienced athletes capable of delivering strong performances.

"Definitely. I do believe that the Indian shooting contingent is one of the strongest. And I think, you know, part of the game is that you're going to win and lose, but the kind of experience and seasoned athletes that we have in the team, I think it's fair to expect. And it's all right because we're all going to do our best, and we do believe that our best is good enough to win medals," Maheshwari said. Speaking about the support from the Sports Authority of India (SAI), Maheshwari highlighted the role of funding and facilities in the growth of shotgun shooting in the country.

"SAI has been amazing. I know the kind of like support and funding that's coming is great, it's very well appreciated, especially for a sport like shotgun. It is very expensive, it's very inaccessible if you don't have the right kind of support," she said. "The way you can see shooting building, especially shotgun shooting building now, you know that it has the right kind of guidance and light and foundation building, and that's the only reason you can see the medals that you do today," she added.

The Indian women's skeet team of Raiza Dhillon, Parinaaz Dhaliwal and Maheshwari Chauhan won the bronze medal at the Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games 2026 on Wednesday. The Indian trio finished third in the women's skeet team event with a combined score of 331. Raiza Dhillon and Parinaaz Dhaliwal recorded scores of 111 each out of 125, while Maheshwari Chauhan contributed 109 points to India's total. China claimed the gold medal with a score of 346, while Kazakhstan secured the silver medal. (ANI)