Neeru Dhanda scripted a historic chapter in Indian shooting on Tuesday as she became the first Indian shooter to win an Asian Games gold medal in the women’s trap individual event.
The 26-year-old Haryana shooter produced a sensational performance in the final at the Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games, finishing with 28 hits to not only claim the top spot but also smash the previous Asian Games record of 24.
Dhanda’s gold came after she had already helped India secure silver in the women’s trap team event earlier in the day. Her individual triumph was even more significant given that no Indian woman had previously won an individual medal in trap or skeet at the Asian Games.
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Neeru Dominates Qualification And Final
Dhanda had been in exceptional form throughout the competition. She finished joint-top in the qualification round alongside Qatar’s Ray Bassil with 118 hits out of 125, a Games qualification record, earning her a place in the eight-shooter final.
The Indian shooter then carried that consistency into the medal round. Despite challenging rainy conditions, Dhanda remained composed and finished with 28 hits, comfortably ahead of China’s Sun Yunong, who took silver with 26.
Kuwait’s Hajar Abdulmalik completed the podium with 21 hits. Bassil, who had matched Dhanda at the top of qualification, finished fourth with 16.
The final standings were:
| Position | Shooter | Score |
|---|
| 1 | Neeru Dhanda (India) | 28 |
| 2 | Sun Yunong (China) | 26 |
| 3 | Hajar Abdulmalik (Kuwait) | 21 |
| 4 | Ray Bassil (Qatar) | 16 |
| 5 | Zhu Jingyu (China) | 13 |
| 6 | Lin Yi-Chun (Chinese Taipei) | 12 |
| 7 | Liu Wan-Yu (China) | 6 |
| 8 | Eleonora Ibragimova | 6 |
First Indian Woman To Win Individual Trap Medal
Dhanda’s achievement goes beyond the gold medal. Before Tuesday, no Indian woman had ever won an individual medal in trap or skeet at the Asian Games.
India’s previous individual Asian Games gold medals in trap shooting came in the men’s events. Randhir Singh won the men’s individual trap gold in 1978, while Ronjan Sodhi claimed the men’s double trap title in 2010.
Dhanda has now added a completely new chapter to that history by becoming the first Indian woman to stand on top of an Asian Games trap podium.
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From World Cup History To Asian Games Gold
The achievement caps a remarkable breakthrough year for Dhanda. In July, she became the first Indian woman to win an individual ISSF World Cup gold in trap, triumphing at Lonato in Italy. The ISSF records show she won the final with 27 hits after posting 121 in qualification.
Her Asian Games campaign began with another milestone as she helped India win silver in the women’s trap team event alongside Aashima Ahlawat and Manisha Keer. The trio scored 328, finishing behind China’s 346, while Kuwait took bronze with 325.
Ahlawat finished 16th and Keer 23rd individually and therefore missed out on the final.
For Dhanda, however, the day ended with something far bigger than a team medal. She topped qualification, dominated the final and rewrote the Asian Games record books to deliver India’s first-ever individual women’s trap gold at the continental showpiece.