New Delhi : After a frustrating 10-day wait, India finally broke through for its first individual gold at the Asian Games, with shotgun shooter Neeru Dhanda, 26, delivering the breakthrough in the women’s trap event. The Army shooter also set a new Asian record en route to the title.
Neeru braved the rain at the Aichi Pref. General Shooting Gallery on Tuesday, dominating the women’s trap final.
It was also India’s first-ever individual gold in the women’s trap event at the Asian Games. Neeru’s gold came after she had earlier led the Indian women’s team to silver. She topped the individual qualification with 118 out of 125, having maintained remarkable consistency across the three-day qualification process, which tests shooters over five rounds in challenging conditions.
Neeru shot 28 out of 30, bettering the previous Asian record by four shots. China’s Sun Yunong won silver with 26 out of 30, while Kuwait’s Hajar Abdulmalik took bronze with 21 out of 25. Neeru had a healthy two-point lead going into the final series. Neeru missed only two shots, one each in Series 2 and Series 5. Neeru Dhanda was not someone who had grown up dreaming of becoming a shooter. Her introduction to the sport came through her cousin Lakshay Sheoran, who won a silver medal in trap at the 2018 Asian Games.
The family connection went beyond inspiration. Lakshay helped Neeru in her early days, with Neeru initially training alongside him and using a gun he lent her. Before that, she had practised with her family’s double-barrel gun, shooting at tin cans as her father helped her get accustomed to the recoil. She eventually joined the Madhya Pradesh Shooting Academy in 2019, beginning the journey that would take her to the international stage.
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