Neeru Dhanda wins India’s first women’s trap gold at Asian Games

India’s Neeru Dhanda won the country’s first Asian Games gold in women’s individual trap shooting on September 29 in Japan, setting an Asian record. The 26-year-old hit 28 of 30 targets in the final, finishing ahead of China’s Sun Yunong, who scored 26.

In wet and windy conditions, Dhanda missed just two targets in the deciding round. She had already matched the Games qualification record with 118 out of 125. That performance also helped India secure women’s team silver alongside Aashima Ahlawat and Manisha Keer, with a combined score of 328 behind China’s 346.

The medals followed a difficult interruption to her preparations. CNBC TV18 reported that illness had put Dhanda in a Delhi hospital for three days and kept her from training for three and a half weeks before the Games.

Her victory extends a breakthrough year: in July, she became the first Indian woman to win an individual trap World Cup gold, in Lonato, Italy. Dhanda credits her cousin Lakshay Sheoran, an Asian Games trap silver medallist, with encouraging her to take up the sport. She later moved to the Madhya Pradesh Shooting Academy in Bhopal because it provided a gun and ammunition free of charge. Her latest result is also India’s first individual Asian Games medal of any colour in women’s trap.