Indian shooter Parinaaz Dhaliwal opened up on her memorable Asian Games 2026 campaign after securing two bronze medals for India: one in the women’s skeet event and another in the mixed team skeet event alongside Anantjeet Singh Naruka.
Speaking to The Free Press Journal, Dhaliwal expressed her happiness at returning home with two historic medals and said she felt blessed to achieve the feat for the country. “It feels amazing. It just feels really, really nice to go back home with two historic medals. We did our bit, we gave our best, and we’re going back home with two medals. It’s a great feeling. I feel blessed to be doing this for our country,” Dhaliwal said, reflecting on her successful campaign.
Dhaliwal also spoke about the intense competition in the women’s skeet event, where the Indian shooters pushed each other to give their best. She also highlighted her partnership with Naruka in the mixed team event, revealing that the duo continued fighting until the final target despite knowing they were unlikely to progress further. “We were like, ‘Okay, let’s just finish it off with grace and just give it our all and we’ll see.’ I’m glad that both of us did the same thing. We were on the same page,” she said.
With the Asian Games now behind her, Dhaliwal has already shifted her focus towards the next major challenge. She revealed that her immediate target is the World Championship in Doha, which will be held in the first week of November and will be an important competition in the qualification journey for the Los Angeles Olympics. “The next goal after the Asian Games is to prepare for the World Championship. It’s the first competition for the LA Olympics where the quotas are going to be given out,” she said.
Dhaliwal added that she plans to take a short break before returning to training, with the Indian shooting contingent scheduled to have a camp in the final week of October ahead of the World Championships. “The Asian Games is already in the past now. Need to start looking at the future and start preparing for the future competitions,” she said, stressing the need to quickly move forward and focus on the challenges ahead.
Despite acknowledging that the workload will only increase, Dhaliwal said she remains highly motivated after her Asian Games success. “The work gets harder and harder and then, of course, the work just multiplies. But I’m really feeling motivated and happy to be going back home with two medals, and so much to learn from, so much experience and everything is great,” she added, as she looks to carry the momentum into the World Championships and the road towards LA 2028.
