"Very excited to meet PM Modi": Shooter Suruchi Singh after Asian Games mixed doubles shooting gold

After a lull at a few medal events, India produced two pistol shooting medals. After a silver in the men's 50 m rifle 3 positions team event, the mixed doubles pair of Suruchi Singh and Kamaljeet clinched the gold medal in the 10m air pistol mixed team event, securing India's second gold medal of the competition.

By Vipul Kashyap India's newly crowned Asian Games mixed team gold medallist shooter Suruchi Singh expressed excitement at the prospect of meeting Prime Minister Narendra Modi following her triumph, while also reflecting on her individual performance and why she "would not be celebrating her milestone that much".

After a lull at a few medal events, India produced two pistol shooting medals. After a silver in the men's 50 m rifle 3 positions team event, the mixed doubles pair of  Suruchi Singh and Kamaljeet clinched the gold medal in the 10m air pistol mixed team event, securing India's second gold medal of the competition. Speaking to ANI after her medal win, she said, "I am very happy after winning this gold medal. This is the result of hard work—mine, my parents', and also the federation's, which supported me so much, and the government's. I came with the exact mindset that I would win and take back the gold medal.  I was thinking that I should bring a gold in shooting. I wanted to bring it, but I could not bring it in the individual event. So, it came in the mixed team event, and I am happy."

The young shooter is also excited to meet PM Modi after the conclusion of the Asian Games 2026, saying, "I am very excited to meet him. I have not thought yet about what I will say to him." This comes after a poor showing in the women's 10 m air pistol qualification event, finishing at 26th spot and missing out on qualification for the singles medal match. Having missed out on a prestigious singles gold, Suruchi is happy with the mixed doubles medal but does not plan to celebrate it that much.

"I would not celebrate it that much because I performed poorly in the individual event. I would not celebrate as much as I would have for an individual medal. But still, a medal is a medal," she said. Suruchi dedicated her medal to her parents and her coach.

Speaking on the contribution of the Sports Authority of India (SAI) in her success, Suruchi said, "SAI helps a lot. I am an SAI athlete, and I practice at their centre. They also give us pocket money every month. So, it definitely helps." Coming to the mixed doubles gold, Suruchi and Kamaljeet finished with a total of 484.6 points in the final to beat South Korea, who won silver with 478.0 points. Iran claimed the bronze medal with 415.8 points, while Indonesia finished with 349.4 points and were eliminated.

The Indian duo of Suruchi and Kamaljeet also smashed the Asian record, which was previously set by Uzbekistan (481.3) earlier this year in New Delhi during the Asian Shooting Championships event. India currently has 19 medals at the 2026 Games, comprising two golds, eight silvers and nine bronze medals.

The gold is India's second at the Asian Games so far. Earlier, the Indian women's cricket team clinched gold after defeating Sri Lanka by 147 runs in the gold medal match. (ANI)