Paris Olympians Maheshwari Chauhan and Anantjeet Singh Naruka clinched gold in the Skeet Mixed Team event at the 67th National Shooting Championship in New Delhi. Representing Rajasthan, the duo edged past Uttar Pradesh’s Mairaj Ahmad Khan and Areeba Khan in a nail-biting final, securing a 44-43 victory. Punjab’s Ganemat Sekhon and Abhay Singh Sekhon took the bronze.
Earlier this year, Maheshwari and Anantjeet had narrowly missed out on an Olympic bronze in Paris by a single point. At the nationals, they underlined their exceptional skills by topping the qualification with a combined score of 143. Their composed performance in the final kept them ahead, despite a brief moment of tension when Maheshwari received a caution for overshooting her shot time.
In the qualification, three teams—Punjab’s Ganemat Sekhon and Abhay Singh Sekhon, Haryana’s Ishaan Libra and Raiza Dhillon, and Uttar Pradesh’s Mairaj Ahmad Khan and Areeba Khan—were tied at 141 points. Uttar Pradesh clinched their spot in the gold medal match with a flawless eight-hit performance in the deciding shoot-off.
In the Junior Skeet Mixed Team, Madhya Pradesh delivered a stunning upset against Haryana in a thrilling gold medal match. Jyotiraditya Singh and Mansi Raghuvanshi triumphed in a shoot-off, winning 4-2 after tying at 40 hits apiece. Telangana’s Munek Battula and Zahra Deesawala claimed bronze with a convincing 42-36 victory over Rajasthan’s Yaduraj Singh and Yashasvi Rathore.
For Maheshwari and Anantjeet, this victory capped off a remarkable year, solidifying their status as one of India’s premier shooting duos. Their success also underscores Rajasthan’s growing dominance in skeet shooting and raises hopes for more international triumphs in the future.