Nagoya, Sep 24 A shaky start left Anantjeet Singh Naruka and Parinaaz Dhaliwal staring at an early exit, but the Indian skeet pair refused to buckle, pushing each other through the pressure to fight until the last target and secure a historic bronze in the mixed team event at the Asian Games here on Thursday.
The medal was India’s first-ever in the Asian Games skeet mixed team event and capped a remarkable fightback after Naruka and Dhaliwal managed just 44/50 in the opening round of qualification.
“We had a difficult start. Both of us didn’t shoot well in the first round and then we just told each other that we can still get it. We have two more rounds to go and we will fight till the last target,” Naruka said.
The Indians responded exactly as they had promised. They steadied themselves in the second round, hitting 47 targets, and matched that score in the third to finish qualification on 138 and book their place in the four-team final.
Dhaliwal said the message between them never changed: keep fighting and worry about the result only after the last target.
“It was just about fighting till the very end. We were like, ‘Let’s just give it our all and then we’ll see what happens after the third round,’ and that’s what we did,” she said.
For Naruka, that mutual support captured what the mixed team event is all about.
“We were supportive and just kept telling each other that we have to fight. That’s what a mixed team is, you know, that’s how it’s supposed to be,” he said.
The pair also drew heavily on the energy around them. With the medal still uncertain, the coaches and support staff kept the atmosphere upbeat rather than allowing the pressure to build.
“We were just having a really happy environment and we were just like, ‘We are going to do this. We don’t know how, but I know we will end up doing this,'” Dhaliwal said.
Coach Filippelli Riccardo’s instructions were refreshingly simple.
“Just go on, just go on,” Dhaliwal recalled.
There was little need for elaborate tactical discussions during the 30-second timeout in the final. The Indians simply concentrated on maintaining the rhythm that comes naturally to both shooters.
“Nothing, just go on, just keep going. Just keep your rhythm. We both are aggressive shooters, we are rhythmic shooters, so it works quite well,” Dhaliwal said.
The bronze also added another significant medal to Naruka’s career, which already includes an individual bronze at the World Cup Final in Delhi and a fourth-place finish at the Olympics. Yet the Asian Games podium brought him greater satisfaction than his Olympic result.
“I think this one (Asian Games), because at the Olympics you are coming fourth but if you are not standing on the podium, it doesn’t matter. Today we fought, we fought well and we got the bronze,” he said.
The result completed a memorable two days for Indian skeet, which collected three medals at these Games. Naruka hopes that success will give the discipline’s younger shooters another push.
“Of course, it’s good motivation for other shooters as well. Last time I remember we got two medals in skeet, this time we have three, so we are very happy,” he said.
The bronze also gave Naruka and Dhaliwal two medals each at the Games. Naruka had earlier helped India to bronze in the men’s team event, while Dhaliwal was part of the women’s team that also finished on the podium.
Naruka, who won an individual silver and a team bronze at the 2023 Hangzhou Asian Games, said the latest haul was particularly satisfying after the pressure that had built around the Indian shooting contingent following the men’s 10m air pistol shooters’ disappointing show.
“Everyone can have a bad day and that doesn’t mean that they are not great shooters,” he said. “I think we both are going back with two medals each and it’s a very big thing for us.”
For Dhaliwal, the medal was the payoff for a decision she made after school — to choose shooting over studying abroad.
After graduating from Mayo College, she was given the option of going overseas to study or pursuing the sport. She chose the latter because it was what she genuinely wanted.
“I do this because I absolutely love doing this. I am passionate about the sport, it’s my hobby, I absolutely enjoy doing this,” she said.
“After I graduated from Mayo, I was given an option of going abroad to study or to take up shooting. This is what I wanted to do because I wanted to follow my heart.”
At the range, she is more commonly known as “Pari”, a nickname that started with close friends and family before spreading among the shooting fraternity.
“It started with my very close friends and my family at the range calling me Pari. Eventually everybody just started calling me Pari,” she said.
“So I know if somebody is calling me Pari, they are close to me.”
There will be little time to savour the medal. Naruka’s next assignment is the World Championships in Doha, where he will also have a chance to chase an Olympic quota place for India.
“I’m going to celebrate a bit and then again get back to work, start shooting again,” he said.
And when asked about the quota, he kept it brief.
“Let’s see, fingers crossed.
(PTI News)
