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Rewari, Jhajjar rejoice: Haryana shooters bring home Asian Games gold
The Indian pair scored 484.6 points in the final to finish ahead of South Korea’s Suhyeon Hong and Gaeun Choo, who took silver with 478 points
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Haryana shooters Kamaljeet of Rewari and Suruchi Inder Singh of Jhajjar combined to win the gold medal in the 10m air pistol mixed-team event at the Asian Games in Nagoya, giving India its second gold medal in the Games.
The Indian pair scored 484.6 points in the final to finish ahead of South Korea’s Suhyeon Hong and Gaeun Choo, who took silver with 478 points.
The gold came after both shooters faced disappointment in their individual events. Suruchi failed to qualify for the women’s 10m air pistol final, while Kamaljeet finished ninth in the men’s event, missing the final by one point.
For Kamaljeet, the road to the Asian Games podium began after an injury ended his athletics aspirations. Kamaljeet resident of Rewari’s Sulkha village was pursuing athletics when he suffered a serious injury during training in 2019 at the age of 15, forcing him to abandon the sport. He subsequently took up pistol shooting.
Kamaljeet comes from a middle-class family, and struggled to meet the expenses of training courses and competitions. However, his parents never allowed him to give up shooting. A coach from his own village trained him during the early stages of his career.
“I was confident that my son will win a gold medal and he fulfilled our dream today”, said Kamaljit’s mother Rajbala. She said that her son has given a new identity to his village.
Kamaljeet’s father, Ratiram, said, “He has been practising shooting since 2019. He has reached this level through consistent hard work and discipline and is currently training under coach Shaktipal in our village itself.”
After consistently performing well in domestic competitions, he also received support from the Sports Authority of India (SAI) and the National Rifle Association of India. Kamaljeet earned his place in the national team on the basis of points accumulated in ranking competitions.
Kamaljeet initially competed in the 50m pistol before switching to the 10m air pistol and won gold at the ISSF Junior World Championship in 2023, and later secured a silver at the Asian Championships. He subsequently entered the senior national setup with support from the National Rifle Association of India and the Sports Authority of India.
Suruchi, meanwhile began shooting at the age of 13. Hailing from Sasroli village in Jhajjar, she would travel by train to a shooting academy in Bhiwani with her father and brothers. To help his daughter realise her dream of becoming a shooter, her father, Inder Singh, took voluntary retirement (VRS) from his post as a head constable and invested his entire life savings in Suruchi’s sporting career. In the early days, he would take her every day by local train from Sasroli to the Guru Dronacharya Shooting Academy in Bhiwani for training, he said.
Suruchi’s mother Sudesh Rani said, “We are very happy over her performance as it is a result of her hardwork”, she said. “We will organise a road show on her return”, she said adding that she would make her favourite dish Choorma of desi ghee when she will come.
Her family initially wanted her to pursue kabaddi, but shooting eventually became her chosen sport. She went on to make her mark on the international circuit, winning multiple ISSF World Cup gold medals and setting a junior world record.
Haryana chief minister Nayab Singh Saini also congratulated the two shooters for their victory.
In a post on X, the chief minister described Suruchi and Kamaljeet as “dhakad” players and said they made the nation proud. “I extend my heartfelt congratulations to Suruchi from Jhajjar and Kamaljeet from Rewari for winning the gold medal for the country in the 10-metre air pistol mixed team event at the Asian Games-2026,” the post said.
Saini said the entire state of Haryana was proud of the achievement of the two shooters.
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