"Worked really hard for this": Himanshu, Raiza Dhillon celebrate Asian Games medals, set sights on 2028 Olympics

By Adarsh Chauhan New Delhi [India], September 26 (ANI): Indian shooters Himanshu Dhillon and Raiza Dhillon expressed their happiness over their medal-winning performances at the Asian Games 2026 in Aichi-Nagoya, while also setting their sights on winning medals at the LA Olympics. India's medal-winning shooting contingent from the Asian Games received a warm welcome at the New Delhi airport on Friday night. Himanshu Dhillon returned home with two silver medals from the Games. He won silver in the men's individual 10m air rifle event and another silver in the men's 10m air rifle team event alongside Rudrankksh Patil and Parth Mane. Speaking to ANI, Himanshu said he was delighted to win two silver medals for India and praised the camaraderie among teammates, who cheer for and support each other during their events. Himanshu added that his next targets are medals at the World Championships and Olympics. "It feels very good that I have brought two silver medals for my country. It feels very good when our own brothers and our own partners win medals. It feels great when their events are taking place. Then we cheer for them, and when our event is going on, they cheer for us. My next target is to win medals at the World Championships and the Olympics," he said. Himanshu also hailed Kamaljeet and Suruchi Singh for winning gold in the mixed team 10m air pistol event on Friday, securing India's second gold medal at the Games. The Indian pair delivered a dominant performance in the final, finishing with 484.6 points to beat South Korea, who claimed silver with 478.0 points. Suruchi and Kamaljeet also broke the Asian record of 481.3 points, set by Uzbekistan earlier this year at the Asian Shooting Championships in New Delhi. Himanshu said their individual performances did not go as expected, but they made up for it by breaking the Asian record. Notably, Kamaljeet had finished ninth in the men's individual qualification and narrowly missed the final, while Suruchi placed 26th in the women's event. "You can say that, in their individual matches, things did not go as well as expected, but they made up for those shortcomings later by breaking a record," Himanshu said. Meanwhile, India's women's skeet team member Raiza Dhillon, who won the bronze medal alongside Parinaaz Dhaliwal and Maheshwari Chauhan, said the team had worked hard and prepared well for the medal, while crediting the support from the Sports Authority of India (SAI) and National Rifle Association of India (NRAI) for being a constant support. She also praised the entire shooting contingent for its hard work and said the team was proud of each other. "Worked really hard for this medal. We really prepared well for this medal, so we're very proud of it. We got very good support from the SAI and from NRAI, which has really helped in our performance. I think that's why shooting is doing really well. The rest of the team has also worked really hard, and they all deserved this win, and we're all proud of each other," she said. Raiza Dhillon said Kamaljeet and Suruchi Singh's gold was a very important medal for India, adding that the team was proud and happy for them, with the next target being winning medals at the Olympics. "(About Kamaljeet and Suruchi's gold win) That's the first gold we've got, so it's a very big medal. We're very proud of them; we're very happy for them. Next target is the Olympics and winning medals there," she added. Indian skeet team's coach Amrinder Singh Cheema said he was happy with India's podium finishes at the Asian Games and expressed confidence about the team's future. 'I am very happy that we have come away with podium finishes. We are all doing a very good job, and I am very positive about the future,' he said. So far, India has won 23 medals at the Asian Games, comprising two gold, nine silver and 12 bronze medals, with 10 of those medals coming from shooting. (ANI)