Suruchi and Kamaljeet bounce back from tough starts to win shooting gold at Asian Games

Suruchi Phogat and Kamaljeet Singh won the gold medal and set an Asian Games record in the 10m air pistol mixed team event on Friday. Paired together at the last minute, the Haryana shooters combined for 484.6 points in the final. The South Korean pair of Choo Gaeun and Hong Suhyeon finished second with 478.0 points, while Iran won the bronze medal with 415.8 points. Both shooters had earlier faced disappointment in their individual events. Suruchi slept for 13 hours after her match, struggling with tension that caused her to hesitate and shoot late. Kamaljeet went to bed around 1 am and managed only four hours of sleep after missing the individual final by just one point, finishing with 580 points. India changed its team combination on the match-eve, replacing Kedarling Uchagave with Kamaljeet based on his qualification form. Their coach, Samresh Jung, worked with them mentally to help them trust the process and replace negative thoughts with positive ones. The duo topped the qualification round with 587 points before taking control early in the final and winning by a 6.6-point margin. This victory marks India's first shooting gold at the Games and second overall, following the women's cricket team win.