The family of 22-year-old skeet shooter Raiza Dhillon in Karnal is elated after she won a bronze medal in the women’s skeet team event at the ongoing Asian Games in Japan.
The family at Shamgarh village, around 10km from Karnal, distributed sweets and met relatives who arrived at their residence to congratulate them.
The Indian trio of Dhillon, Parinaaz Dhaliwal and Maheshwari Chauhan clinched the first-ever bronze medal in the women’s skeet team event at the games.
After the victory, Dhillon said they were sure of the medal because their training went well, and they were proud of themselves for winning it for the country. She said that despite some weather changes, they were able to cope-up with the climatic conditions.
The Haryana shooter was also confident of winning more medals in other events at the games. The medal has brought pride to the family. Her father, Ravijit Dhillon is a farmer and businessman, while her mother Gul Dhillon is the village sarpanch.
His father said they were hoping for a gold but were still delighted with the bronze.
{{/usCountry}}His father said they were hoping for a gold but were still delighted with the bronze.
{{/usCountry}}Behind the inspiration, he said, “Raiza was inspired by the guns my father Ravjit Singh Dhillon used for hunting, which were later passed on to me. I handed the same legacy to my daughter, introduced her to the sport and she never looked back. She first handled an air rifle at the age of 12 and three years later, she took up skeet shooting.”
Her grandfather hoped that she would soon realise her Olympic dream. Recently, she won two silver medals at the Junior World Cup in 2025. Earlier in 2021, she also clinched gold at the Junior World Championship in Peru.