New Delhi [India], October 3 (ANI): Indian shooter Maheshwari Chauhan reflected on the women’s skeet team’s historic bronze at the Asian Games 2026, saying the team was grateful for the support while stressing that there was still more to achieve.
Chauhan, who won the bronze alongside Raiza Dhillon and Parinaaz Dhaliwal, said the reception upon returning from Japan, following their medal-winning performance, had been overwhelming.
“I'm extremely overwhelmed by all the love and affection and appreciation that's come my way. I do feel like we have a long way to go, but it's really nice and reassuring to see this kind of support,” she told ANI.
The Indian trio finished third in the women’s skeet team event with a combined score of 331, with Dhaliwal and Dhillon scoring 111 each out of 125 and Chauhan contributing 109. The medal was India’s first-ever Asian Games medal in the women’s skeet team event.
Maheshwari Chauhan said she, Dhaliwal and Dhillon gave their best as a team and were fortunate to compete together. She said she believes they still have more to achieve but were happy to return with a medal, describing it as the first Asian Games medal in women’s skeet and expressing gratitude at being part of the historic achievement.
“I think Parinaaz, Raiza and I, we try to just do our best and I'm really fortunate to be in the team with them. And I think we still have a lot more in us, but we're very happy to be coming back with a medal. It happens to be the first medal for women's skeet in the Asian Games, and I'm really, really fortunate to be part of it as well,” she said.
Reflecting on the competition in Japan, Chauhan said it provided another test for the shooters. She also made it clear that her focus has already shifted towards the next major target: the LA Olympics in 2028.
“The competition (in Japan) was great; the standards are high as always. The conditions were a bit different on all three days, but I think it's always a great experience. It's great to go out and test the best. And it's like any other competition because we know how important and prestigious it is, and we know the kind of support that we're getting and the training we're getting is to prepare for such competitions. LA 2028 is the target for me now,” she said.
Meanwhile, the High-Performance Director (HPD) of the National Rifle Association of India (NRAI), Dr. Pierre Beauchamp, also reflected on India's shooting campaign at the Games, saying the Asian Games provided an important opportunity for the shooters to experience pressure at a major multi-sport event with the Los Angeles Olympics in mind.
“I was very pleased with all of our shooters. We were quite excited. We used the Asian Games as a stepping stone for LA 2028, and it was a great experience for them all to shoot under pressure at a major Games,” he said.
Beauchamp said his focus was also on developing the mindset of the athletes, with an emphasis on competing for gold and maximising India's medal tally.
“On my side, what I have to worry about, concerned about, is the mindset of all of our athletes. I want them shooting for gold and to maximise the number of medals that we take in every competition,” he added.
India's shooting contingent finished the Asian Games 2026 campaign with 15 medals, comprising three gold, eight silver and four bronze. The tally was below the 22 medals won by Indian shooters at the 2022 Asian Games in Hangzhou, where shooting emerged as one of the country's most successful disciplines.
Against that backdrop, Beauchamp said he was satisfied with the experience gained by the shooters, while acknowledging that athletes need time to “mature” and improve. He also outlined the team's immediate focus on the World Championships in Doha, set to be held from October 29 to November 15, where India will begin its push for Olympic quota places for LA 2028.
“Yes, I'm happy. Everybody would like more, but we have to understand that athletes need time to mature, and for a lot of them it was their first Games, and we're quite happy for them. We also had four fours. And so I I'm happy with with the experience and we're planning for World Championships in Doha. We start the quota positions. So we're looking for quotas, and we want to maximise the number of quotas that we get for LA 2028,” he added. (ANI)
“We still have a lot more in us”: Maheshwari Chauhan after women’s skeet team bronze at Asian Games 2026
