Who is Anantjeet Singh Naruka? All you need to know about the Indian shooter competing at Paris 2024 Olympics
As the Paris 2024 Olympics got underway on July 26, Indian skeet shooter Anantjeet Singh Naruka will be among those looking to announce their arrival on the biggest stage of all.
Anantjeet, 26, is India’s sole male skeet shooter in the record 21-member shooting contingent in France. He will compete for medals in the men’s skeet event, as well as the skeet mixed team event alongside Maheshwari Chauhan.
Despite being one of the lesser-known names in the Indian shooting contingent, Anantjeet Singh Naruka will look to etch his name in Indian sporting history by securing a podium finish at his debut Olympic Games.
Anantjeet Singh Naruka’s career in brief
Anantjeet Singh Naruka is one of the two players from Rajasthan in India’s Paris 2024 Olympics contingent along with skeet mixed event teammate Maheshwari Chauhan.
Anantjeet picked up the skeet shooting sport from his father Dalpat Singh Naruka, who was his coach during his junior years. Naruka showed promise after a bronze medal win in his first junior-level national tournament, and soon broke into the junior national team.
He continued to win medals at junior-level events, including a silver medal at the skeet men’s junior event in the 2014 Asian Championships.
Anantjeet Singh Naruka cemented his position as one of skeet shooting’s rising talents after he won a gold medal in the men’s skeet event at the 2015 National Shotgun Championships in Jaipur. He further won a bronze medal at the ISSF Junior World Cup in Suhl in the same year.
Despite the low popularity of skeet shooting in India, Naruka truly made himself an athlete to watch after winning a silver medal at the 2022 Asian Games men’s skeet event. He successfully shot 58 out of 60 targets to win India’s first-ever men’s skeet silver medal at the Asian Games.
Anantjeet continued his upward trajectory, winning a silver medal in the skeet mixed team event in the 2023 Asian Championships in Sangwon. He also clinched a silver medal in the 2024 Asian Championships men’s skeet event.
Despite his somewhat less-flashy medals cabinet, Naruka will be confident of taking his chances at the Paris 2024 Olympic games, and will look to make his country and his father proud with his performances in France.