Neeru Dhanda Wins India's First Asian Games Women's Trap Gold With an Asian Record

Neeru Dhanda arrived at the 2026 Asian Games without a single continental Games medal to her name. She leaves the shotgun range in Aichi with two, one of them a gold no Indian woman had ever won.

The 26-year-old from Jind, Haryana, won the women's trap individual title on Tuesday with a score of 28 out of 30 in the final, an Asian record. China's Sun Yunong took silver on 26, while Kuwait's shooter settled for bronze after missing her last target in a tie-break for the final podium place.

It is India's second shooting gold of these Games, following the mixed team air rifle win by Suruchi Singh and Kamaljeet last week, and the country's fifth gold overall in Aichi-Nagoya.

How the Final Unfolded

Neeru came into the medal round as the top qualifier, having shot 118 in qualification, and she largely controlled the final from the front. Her first miss did not come until her ninth target, which briefly pushed her down to third. She responded with two clean series to reach 19 hits from her first 20 shots and move back into the lead.

One more miss in the fifth series was not enough to let Sun back in. Neeru closed the final with a perfect five-for-five, and did it in steady rain at the range.

The margin of two targets sounds narrow, but in a trap final where every miss can reshuffle the standings, Neeru was never seriously threatened once she regained the top spot.

A Double-Medal Day

The individual title capped a day that had already brought India a podium finish. Earlier on Tuesday, Neeru teamed up with Aashima Ahlawat and Manisha Keer to win silver in the women's trap team event. The trio's combined total of 328 across the three-day, 125-target qualification was enough to hold off Kuwait for second place.

That team result mattered on its own terms, but it also made Neeru India's first medallist in the Asian Games trap individual events, men's or women's, in addition to the first woman to win the title outright.

Part of a Breakout Season

The gold is not a one-off. Earlier this year, Neeru became the first Indian woman to win an individual ISSF World Cup gold in women's trap, at the Shotgun World Cup in Lonato, Italy. She also picked up a bronze in the trap mixed team event at the World Cup stop in Almaty, Kazakhstan.

Indian shooting has historically drawn most of its big-event success from rifle and pistol. Shotgun medals, particularly in women's trap, have been rare. A world cup win followed by an Asian Games title with a continental record gives Indian trap shooting a genuine headline performer heading into the next Olympic cycle.

Where India Stands

The shooting result arrived on a busy day 10 for the Indian contingent. Boxer Parveen Hooda also booked a place in the women's 65kg final with a unanimous 5-0 win over China's Li Shu, guaranteeing at least a silver, and Gulveer Singh was set to run in the men's 5000m final chasing a third medal of the Games.

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