Asian Games: Aishwary Pratap Singh finishes fifth, Niraj Kumar eighth as India miss 50m rifle 3P individual medal after team silver

NEW DELHI: India’s shooters missed out on a medal in the men’s 50m rifle 3 positions individual event at the Asian Games 2026 in Aichi-Nagoya on Friday, despite securing silver in the team competition earlier in the day. Asian record holder Aishwary Pratap Singh Tomar finished fifth in the individual final, while Niraj Kumar came last among the eight finalists, bringing a disappointing end to India’s campaign in the event.Aishwary, who had qualified third for the final, managed 327.6 points to finish fifth. Niraj, who had entered the final in fourth place in qualification, could only score 299 points to finish eighth.China’s Liu Yukun claimed gold with 360.5 points, setting a new Asian Games record. His compatriot Zhang Changhong took silver with 360.2 points, while Kazakhstan’s Islam Satpayev secured bronze with 348.3 points.Asian Games Full Coverage | Medal Tally | ScheduleAishwary and Niraj fail to convert qualification form into medalsThe result was a setback for India after both shooters had shown promise in the qualification round. Aishwary, the Asian record holder, had finished third, while Niraj secured the fourth qualifying spot. However, neither could maintain that position in the final as China swept the top two places.The individual event disappointment followed India’s silver-medal finish in the men’s 50m rifle 3 positions team competition. Aishwary, Niraj and Rudrankksh Patil combined for a score of 1762-94x, finishing just behind China, who secured gold with 1766-95x. South Korea took bronze with 1751-87x.Aishwary scored 589-34x to finish third in the team qualification standings, while Niraj recorded 588-34x to place fourth. Rudrankksh, with 585-26x, finished ninth and missed out on a place in the individual final.India had won gold in the team event at the 2022 Asian Games but surrendered their title to China in Aichi-Nagoya.India’s shooting tally reaches 10 medalsIndia’s shooting contingent has now collected 10 medals at the 2026 Asian Games, including one gold, five silver and four bronze medals. The only shooting gold so far came on Friday, when Suruchi and Kamaljeet won the 10m mixed air pistol event.The Indian pair defeated South Korea 484.6 to 478.0 in the final, with Iran taking bronze on 415.8 points. India’s winning score also broke the Asian record of 481.3, previously set by Uzbekistan at the Asian Shooting Championships in New Delhi earlier this year.India’s overall medal tally at the Games stood at 19 on Friday, comprising two gold, eight silver and nine bronze medals. The women’s cricket team had earlier secured India’s other gold, defeating Sri Lanka by 147 runs in the final.The rifle team silver added to India’s medal haul, but the failure to convert two strong qualification performances into an individual podium finish left the shooters without another medal in the event.Stay updated with the latest Asian Games 2026 news, check the Asian Games medal tally and complete Asian Games schedule.Get the latest Sports News and Live updates. Download the TOI app.