Inspired by father, guided by father-in-law: Kynan Chenai’s road to Asiad gold
Kynan Chenai, driven by his father's influence and guided by his future father-in-law, achieved a historic victory at the Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games. Darius Chenai, a former national trap champion, shared that Randhir Singh, Kynan's late father-in-law and a gold medallist from the 1978 Asian Games, was fond of discussing guns with Darius.
The two men shared a deep friendship, with Randhir passing away earlier this year. Kynan, who began shooting in 2003, married Randhir Singh's daughter, Ria Rajeshwari Kumari, who also practices the sport. Randhir's advice to Kynan was to keep it simple and return to the basics when things went wrong. Kynan, having studied at a boarding school, received coaching from Mansher Singh during vacations and later joined the Rio Olympics squad, finishing in 19th place.
With Neeru Dhanda, India's individual trap champion, Kynan shot a total of 136 points, securing fourth place in the four-team final. They achieved an Asian Games record of 34 points in the final, edging out China to win the gold medal. Kynan's performance was particularly impressive, missing only his first shot, while Neeru struggled initially but recovered to shoot perfect series.
With the trap mixed team event now part of the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics, the gold medal adds significant importance to their achievement.
Written by urgent.news from The Indian Express's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
