Asian Games 2026: Neeru Dhanda bags India's first individual gold in women's trap shooting
Neeru Dhanda also won silver with the Indian trap team earlier in the day
Neeru Dhanda secured India’s fifth gold at the Asian Games 2026. On Tuesday, September 29, she won the women’s individual trap gold in Aichi-Nagoya. No Indian woman has ever won this event before. With this medal, India’s gold count rose from four to five.
Just before winning gold, Neeru also clinched silver in the team event. In the team event, she scored 118 out of 125 targets, with rounds of 24, 24, 24, 23 and 23. Aashima Ahlawat added 106, and Manisha Keer contributed 104, taking India’s combined tally to 328.
China clutched gold with 346, and Kuwait seized bronze with 325. Neeru’s 118 was the best qualifying score in the field, shared with Qatar’s Ray Bassil. She was one of eight shooters to reach the final from 27 competitors.
A gold India waited 48 years for
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India’s previous individual Asian Games gold in trap shooting came in the men’s event at Bangkok 1978, when Randhir Singh clinched the title. Neeru’s gold ends a 48-year-long gap and puts an Indian woman on top of this podium for the first time.
This win follows a run of big results: In May 2025, she beat Aashima Ahlawat 40-39 in the final of the second Shotgun National Trials. In August 2025, she won individual and team gold at the Asian Shooting Championships in Shymkent, Kazakhstan.
In May 2026, she and Vivaan Kapoor took mixed team bronze at the World Cup in Almaty. In July 2026, she won World Cup gold in Lonato, Italy, her first individual World Cup medal. Her Asian Games gold now sits beside her team silver from the same day.
RELATED: Shooting at Asian Games 2026: India’s full list of medal winners, medal tally, results
Neeru was born on May 25, 2000, in Jind, Haryana. She took up shooting after being inspired by her cousin, Lakshay Sheoran, who won silver in the men’s trap event at the 2018 Asian Games. She is now a Naib Subedar in the Army, trains at Mhow in Madhya Pradesh and works with coach Peter Wilson.
Who won the women’s individual trap gold at the Asian Games 2026?
Neeru Dhanda of India won it on Tuesday, September 29, in Aichi-Nagoya. She is the first Indian woman to win this event.
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