The final day of shooting at the National Games 2025 saw Haryana’s Raiza Dhillon and Shaan Singh Libra pulled off a major upset over Punjab’s Ganemat Sekhon and Bhavtegh Singh Gill in the Skeet Mixed team event. The Haryana duo delivered a composed performance under pressure, clinching the gold medal with a 41-39 victory over the Punjab pair that included national record holder Ganemat Sekhon.
Despite a strong fight from Ganemat and Bhavtegh, Haryana proved to be the better team on the day, securing their win in a closely contested final. Punjab had to settle for silver, while Telangana’s Munek Battula and Rashmmi Rathore took home the bronze after defeating Madhya Pradesh’s Rituraj S Bundela and Vanshika Tiwari with a score of 37.
Earlier in the qualification round, Punjab had topped the leaderboard with a score of 138+16, closely followed by Haryana (138+14), Madhya Pradesh (133+4), and Telangana (133+3). Despite Punjab’s strong showing in the qualifiers, Haryana turned the tables in the final.
Ganemat Sekhon and Raiza Dhillon’s history
Just before the Skeet Mixed Team event, Ganemat Sekhon had set a new national record in women’s skeet with a near-perfect score of 124 out of 125 in the qualification round. The Punjab shooter missed only one target across five series.
Ganemat has been a consistent performer on the international stage. She became the first Indian female shooter to win a medal at the ISSF World Cup in 2021 when she secured bronze in New Delhi. She followed it up with gold in the skeet mixed team event at the 2023 ISSF World Cup in Cairo and silver in the individual skeet event at the ISSF World Cup in Almaty. She also won three medals at the Asian Championships in Doha and Kuwait City.
Meanwhile, Raiza Dhillon, who played a crucial role in Haryana’s gold-medal win, has made significant strides in Indian shooting. She became the first Indian woman to qualify for an Olympic skeet event after securing a quota for the Paris 2024 Olympics. A three-time Asian Championship medalist, she has shown great progress in recent years and will be a key name to watch in Indian skeet shooting.
Edited by Sudeshna Banerjee
