India’s shooters turned the Asian Rifle/Pistol Championship into a medal fest on Day 4, bagging 10 golds and swelling their count to 43 (27G-10S-8B). The Dr. Karni Singh Shooting Range witnessed Olympian Ilavaniyal Valarivan’s grit in women’s 10m air rifle, where she outlasted Japan’s Misaki Nobata. Shambhavi Kheersagar, the junior prodigy, rewrote records to claim gold.
Ilavaniyal’s journey was one of resilience. Fifth after initial series, she surged ahead by shot 18, holding off challengers with an elimination average of 10.6, featuring a stellar 10.9. Nobata’s 10.8 finishers weren’t enough; Meghana Sajjanar took bronze. Team gold sealed at 1892.6.
In juniors, Shambhavi dazzled with 253.7, eclipsing the prior 253.1 record. Her lead was unassailable, four points over Manyata Singh’s silver (249.7). Final shots: a brilliant sequence ending strong. Anisha Sharma silvered at 227.5; team gold with Sandrata Roy at 1884.2. Ojaswi Thakur’s youth team gold hit 1890.6.
Men’s 50m pistol was a clean Indian sweep: Saurabh Chaudhary gold (563-12x), Kamaljeet silver (561-16x), Ravinder bronze (559-10x). Team gold over Uzbekistan. Yogesh Kumar’s junior gold (557-10x), Guntajpreet’s bronze. Clean sweep in junior women too.
From pistol precision to rifle records, India’s performance signals a powerhouse era. These victories fuel Olympic dreams and national pride.