In the last day of shooting at the National Games 2025, Haryana’s Raiza Dhillon and Singh Singh Weigh scale saw a big upset about Punjab’s Ganemat Sekhon and BhavTegh Singh Gill in the Skeet Mixed Team event. The Haryana duo delivered a composed performance under pressure and won the gold medal with a 41-39 victory on the Punjab purple that included the national record holder Ganemat Sekhon.
Despite a strong fight by Ganemat and BhavTegh, Haryana turned out to be the better team in the day, giving their victory in a closely disputed final. Punjab had to settle for silver, while Telangana’s Munek Battula and Rashmmi Rathore took the bronze home after beating Madhya Pradesh’s Rituraj s Bundela and Vanskika Tiwari with a score of 37.
Earlier in the qualifying round, Punjab had covered the leaderboard with a score of 138+16, closely followed by Haryana (138+14), Madhya Pradesh (133+4) and Telangana (133+3). Despite the strong show of Punjab in the qualifications, Haryana turned the tables in the final.
Ganemat Sekhon and the history of Raiza Dhillon
Just before the Skeet Mixed Team event, Ganemat Sekhon had set a new National Record in Ladies Skeet with an almost perfect score of 124 of the 125 in the qualifying round. The Punjab Shooter missed only one target in 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 insured bronze in New Delhi. She succeeded it with gold in the skeet mixed team event at the ISSF World Cup 2023 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.
In the meantime, Raiza Dhillon, who played a crucial role in Haryana’s Goudmedale victory, has taken considerable steps in the Indian shooting. She became the first Indian woman who was eligible for an Olympic skeet event after obtaining a quota for the Olympic Games in Paris 2024. A triple Asian championship medal winner, she has shown great progress in recent years and will be a key name to go to To look in the Indian skeet shooting party.
Published by Sudshna Banerjee