 "Meet Maheshwari Chauhan and Anant Jeet Singh Naruka, skeet shooters who lost bronze by a whisker at Paris Olympics")
Shooters Maheshwari Chauhan and Anant Jeet Singh Naruka missed out on a bronze medal by a whisker in the skeet mixed team event at the Paris Olympics on Monday (August 5). The Indian duo went down 43-44 against China’s Jiang Yiting and Lyu Jianlin in the bronze medal match.
The Indian pair reached the bronze medal match by finishing fourth in the qualification round with a score of 146. They were tied on 146 with China’s Jiang Yiting and Lyu Jianlin in the qualification round but finished fourth after the Chinese won the shoot-off 4-3.
Who is Maheshwari Chauhan?
Maheshwari, 28, hails from Siana in Rajasthan and has been practicing shooting since 2012. She played her first competition in 2013. Her CV includes a silver at Olympic Qualification Championships and two bronzes at Asian Championships.
Chauhan, who studied at the Lady Shri Ram College in Delhi, started shooting as a summer vacation hobby while visiting her family’s shooting range at their village in Siana.
Maheshwari comes from three generation of shooters. Her grandfather Ganpat Singh and father Pradeep Singh were both shooters and competed till the national level. Her brother Daksh is also a shooter. Maheshwari, though, outdid them by representing India.
She has been travelling to Aritzo in Italy to be coached by Riccardo Filippelli since 2022. “The biggest thing I learned in Italy was how the Italian shooters shot with a relaxed mind. They don’t get too worked up, and keep the focus going while having fun in the sport,” she told The Indian Express.
Impact Shorts
More ShortsShe won bronze medals at the 2017 and 2024 Asian Championships in the individual competition.
Ahead of the Paris Olympics, she bagged quota with a second-place finish at the qualification event in Doha. She shot 121 to book her place in the French capital. The first-time Olympian revealed she got handy tips from fellow-shooter Raiza Dhillon before clinching quota.
Who is Anant Jeet Singh Naruka?
The 26-year-old shooter hails from Jaipur in Rajasthan and has been lauded with two local awards by the state government - Rajasthan Gaurav Award (2023) and HH Maharaja Sawai Man Singh II Award (2020).
His father, Dalpat Singh, was a skeet shooter and became his inspiration behind taking up the sport. The youngster started shooting in 2012 and competed in his first competition in 2013.
Naruka qualified for the Paris Olympics by securing a quota place with a silver medal at the 2024 Asian Championships in Kuwait. He also won a bronze medal, with Gurjoat Khangura and Munek Battula, in the men’s skeet team at the championships.
Anant bagged two medals at the Asian Games held last year - silver in the skeet, bronze in the men’s skeet team, with Angad Vir Singh Bajwa and Gurjoat Khangura.
He won two gold medals in skeet team (men’s and mixed) at the 2023 Asian Championships in Changwon, Republic of Korea. At the early stage in his career, Naruka clinched a bronze medal at the 2013 ISSF Junior World Cup in Suhl.
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