Himanshu Dhillon Wins Silver, Rudrankksh Patil Takes Bronze as India Shines in Asian Games Shooting

NAGOYA: India’s shooting campaign at the 2026 Asian Games gathered further momentum on September 21, with Himanshu Dhillon winning an individual silver and Rudrankksh Patil claiming bronze in the men’s 10m air rifle event. The two shooters had earlier combined with Parth Mane to secure another silver in the team competition, giving India a productive day at the shooting range.

The men’s 10m air rifle team event provided the first medal of the day for India. Dhillon, Patil and Mane produced a combined score of 1890.1 points to finish second behind China. China’s Sheng Lihao, Ma Sihan and Zhang Changhong accumulated 1899.0 points to take gold, with their total also setting a qualification world record.

The Indian trio remained competitive throughout the team competition and maintained their position near the top of the standings. Their silver added to the two medals won by the Indian women’s 10m air rifle team on September 20, when Elavenil Valarivan, Sonam Maskar and Vidarsa K Vinod finished second in the team event.

The men’s result also gave Dhillon and Patil an opportunity to compete for individual honours later in the programme. Both shooters successfully made the eight man individual final, while Mane narrowly missed the qualification cut after finishing 11th in the preliminary standings.

Patil produced the strongest qualification performance among the Indian trio. He finished third with 631.8 points, while Dhillon qualified in seventh place with 630 points. Mane recorded 628.3 points and ended the qualification round in 11th position.

The individual final then delivered another medal for the Indian contingent. Himanshu Dhillon finished second to take silver, while Rudrankksh Patil secured bronze. China’s Sheng Lihao won the gold medal.

Dhillon’s silver came with a score of 252.4 points, while Patil finished with 230.9. Sheng Lihao claimed the gold after producing 254.2 points. The result meant India collected two more medals from the individual event after already securing the men’s team silver earlier in the day.

For Dhillon, the medal added another major achievement to a career that has included success at junior international competitions. He has represented India in the men’s 10m air rifle and mixed team events at major competitions, including ISSF Junior World Cups, Asian Championships and World Cup events. His breakthrough year came in 2025, when he won two gold medals and a bronze at the ISSF Junior World Cup.

Patil, meanwhile, entered the Asian Games with considerable international experience. He had previously reached the top of the world rankings in the men’s 10m air rifle event following his performances in the early part of his senior career. He also made his senior ISSF World Cup debut in Munich in 2026, where he finished ninth in the individual competition.

The shooting medals have become an important part of India’s early Asian Games campaign. On September 20, Elavenil Valarivan had already won silver in the women’s individual 10m air rifle event. She also formed part of India’s silver-medal-winning women’s team alongside Sonam Maskar and Vidarsa Vinod.

Valarivan finished the women’s individual final with 252.4 points, narrowly behind Japan’s Hinata Taichi, who won gold with a Games-record score of 253.0. South Korea’s Ban Hyojin took bronze. Earlier, the Indian women’s team had registered 1898.0 points to finish second behind China’s 1904.2.

The consecutive performances have placed Indian shooters at the centre of the country’s early medal campaign in Aichi-Nagoya. With several shooting disciplines scheduled across the Games, the results from the air rifle events provide an early indication of the depth within India’s shooting contingent.

The men’s 10m air rifle competition was also significant because of the quality of the Chinese challenge. Sheng Lihao emerged as the leading qualifier with 635.4 points, while the Chinese team eventually secured gold in the team competition. China’s Zhang Changhong was fifth in qualification but could not advance to the individual final because only two shooters from the same country were permitted to compete in the medal round.

India’s three shooters therefore entered the final stages with different positions but a shared opportunity to add to the team’s medal tally. Patil’s third-place qualification position and Dhillon’s seventh place qualification showed that both had secured their places among the leading shooters before the final.

The final standings brought further success. Dhillon converted his qualification into an individual silver, while Patil moved from third in qualification to bronze. Their performances gave India a total of three medals from the men’s 10m air rifle competition on September 21  one team silver and two individual medals.

The results also strengthened India’s medal count early in the continental competition. Before the men’s events, India’s first two medals had both come from the women’s 10m air rifle events on September 20. The addition of three medals on September 21 took the country’s shooting haul to five medals, while Suchika Tariyal’s historic MMA bronze later increased India’s overall medal tally further.

The Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games have brought together leading athletes from across the continent, making the shooting events particularly competitive. India’s results in the air rifle competitions have therefore provided a strong start to its campaign across the shooting programme.

The performances of Dhillon, Patil and Mane also demonstrated the importance of team consistency in the qualification stage. While the team narrowly finished behind China, the three Indian shooters maintained scores strong enough to keep India in medal contention in the individual event.

For Dhillon, the silver represents another important step in his development at senior international level. For Patil, the bronze adds to an already established international record. Mane, despite missing the individual final, contributed significantly to India’s team silver.

India will continue to compete across multiple shooting disciplines during the Games, with further medal opportunities expected as the competition progresses. The early results have already established shooting as one of the prominent contributors to India’s medal campaign.

The September 21 performance also followed an opening day in which India secured two silver medals through Valarivan and the women’s 10m air rifle team. With three additional medals from the men’s event, Indian shooters have made a substantial contribution to the country’s early results in Aichi-Nagoya.

The focus will now shift to the remaining shooting competitions, where India’s athletes will seek further opportunities on the continental stage. For Dhillon and Patil, however, September 21 will remain a significant day after both secured individual medals and helped India earn a team silver in the men’s 10m air rifle event.