India’s Sift Kaur Samra powered to a gold medal in the women’s 50m rifle 3 positions event at the Asian Shooting Championship 2025 in Shymkent, Kazakhstan, on Tuesday. The 22-year-old also clinched the team gold alongside Ashi Chouksey and Anjum Moudgil, making it a golden double for India.
In the individual final, Samra shot 459.2 points to finish ahead of China’s Yujie Yang (458.8). Trailing by 0.3 points before the last two shots, Samra held her nerve to fire 9.6 and 10.0, while Yang faltered with an 8.7 on her penultimate attempt. Japan’s Misaki Nobata secured bronze with 448.2.
India had strong representation in the event, with Ashi Chouksey finishing seventh (402.8), while Shriyanka Sadandi topped qualifying but was competing for Ranking Points Only (RPO). Anjum Moudgil, however, had a tough outing, ending 22nd in qualification.
The combined score of 1753 points from Samra, Ashi, and Anjum sealed the team gold for India, edging past Japan (1750) and Republic of Korea (1745).
With these two medals, India’s tally at the Shymkent championship rose to 19 medals in senior events – nine gold, three silver, and seven bronze. Among the highlights, Manu Bhaker, India’s two-time Olympic medallist, has contributed three bronze medals, including one in the women’s 10m air pistol individual event.
The Indian senior squad of 35 shooters is competing across 15 events, while 129 juniors are also in action at the championship, underlining India’s growing depth in shooting. The competition will conclude on Friday.
