India’s Asian Games 2026 Shooting Campaign Gets Final Push

India’s shooting contingent has entered the final phase of preparation for the 2026 Asian Games, with the country’s selected rifle, pistol and shotgun shooters undergoing intensive camps in Bhopal and New Delhi before travelling to Japan.

The Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games begin on September 19, and shooting is expected to be one of India’s strongest medal-producing sports after its outstanding performance at the previous edition in Hangzhou.

India won 22 shooting medals in Hangzhou — seven gold, nine silver and six bronze, making the discipline one of the biggest contributors to the country’s 107-medal haul.

Final Training Camps in Bhopal and Delhi

The National Rifle Association of India (NRAI) has divided the final preparation programme between two major facilities.

The selected pistol and rifle shooters are training at the Madhya Pradesh State Shooting Academy in Bhopal from September 5 to 14.

Meanwhile, India's shotgun specialists are using the Dr Karni Singh Shooting Range in New Delhi. The skeet camp began earlier in September, while the trap camp is scheduled from September 10 to 18.

The final camps are designed to give athletes one last opportunity to sharpen their competition routines before the journey to Japan.

Mental Strength and Technical Precision

The preparation is not limited to physical practice.

NRAI High Performance Director Pierre Beauchamp said the focus of the camps includes mental conditioning and technical refinement, two areas that can become decisive in a competition where the smallest difference can determine a medal.

For elite shooters, consistency under pressure is as important as raw technical ability.

The final weeks therefore provide an opportunity to work on precision, competition rhythm, recovery and the mental demands of performing on a major international stage.

Manu Bhaker Leads a Strong Squad

India's 30-member shooting squad includes several established international names.

Manu Bhaker, a double Olympic medallist, is among the headline members of the team. She has been selected for both the 10m air pistol and 25m pistol events.

Esha Singh is also selected in both events, while the rifle squad includes names such as Rudrankksh Patil, Aishwary Pratap Singh Tomar, Elavenil Valarivan and Vidarsa K Vinod.

The squad size is capped at 30 athletes — 15 men and 15 women — despite the shooting programme offering participation across a much larger number of event slots. That forced selectors to carefully balance event specialisation and multi-event participation.

Esha Singh Brings Recent Momentum

Esha Singh enters the Asian Games campaign with encouraging recent form.

In July, she won ISSF World Cup gold in the women's 25m pistol in Hangzhou, defeating China's Zhang Yueyue in the final. Manu Bhaker also reached the podium with bronze, giving India a strong one-two presence in the competition.

Earlier in February, Singh also won silver in the women's 10m air pistol at the Asian Championships in New Delhi, while India dominated the team event with gold.

Her recent performances add to expectations surrounding India's pistol team heading into the Asian Games.

Manu Bhaker Has Proven Asian-Level Experience

Bhaker's selection also brings significant international experience.

At the 2026 Asian Championships in New Delhi, she won silver in the women's 25m pistol, losing to Vietnam's Thuy Trang Nguyen in a shoot-off. Esha Singh took bronze in the same final.

That performance demonstrated that India's leading pistol shooters remain capable of competing deep into major international finals.

Rifle and Shotgun Depth

India's challenge extends well beyond its headline names.

The rifle team includes experienced competitors alongside younger shooters, while the shotgun contingent features athletes such as Anantjeet Singh Naruka, Mairaj Ahmad Khan, Kynan Chenai, Maheshwari Chauhan and Raiza Dhillon.

Veteran shooter Mairaj Ahmad Khan, 50, is also seeking his first Asian Games medal, adding another individual storyline to India's campaign.

The depth across rifle, pistol and shotgun gives India several potential medal routes rather than relying on one or two athletes.

A Bigger Target After Hangzhou

The shooting team's success at the 2022 Hangzhou Asian Games — held in 2023 — has inevitably raised expectations.

India's 22 shooting medals there represented roughly one-fifth of the country's overall medal tally.

Repeating that performance will be difficult, particularly with strong Asian shooting nations such as China, Korea, Japan and others competing across the disciplines.

But India's current squad combines Olympic experience, Asian Games experience, recent World Cup form and emerging talent.

The Final Test Is Now Mental

With the competition approaching, the Indian shooters are moving beyond long-term preparation and into the stage where small technical improvements and mental control can make the difference.

The Bhopal and Delhi camps are therefore more than routine training sessions.

They represent the final opportunity to establish competition rhythm, manage pressure and arrive in Japan with confidence.

The Indian shooting campaign will begin with expectations already high.

After a record-level performance in Hangzhou, the challenge in Aichi-Nagoya is clear:

Turn months of preparation into medals when the targets matter most.

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