Neeru Dhanda didn't just win a medal; she broke a glass ceiling that had stood for decades. On Tuesday, the shooter closed out the women’s trap final with 28 hits out of 30, securing India’s first-ever individual gold at the Asian Games. It’s a title that eluded the country for years, but Dhanda grabbed it with a calm, methodical precision that left competitors in her wake.
The final was tight, but Dhanda controlled the rhythm. She opened with a blistering start—five straight hits—and finished the first ten shots with nine. When the pressure mounted, she didn’t flinch. A perfect string of five in the next sequence kept her ahead, allowing her to manage the pressure rather than chase it. Her qualification score of 118 points, shared with another shooter, signaled early that she was in peak form.
This wasn't her only contribution. Earlier in the competition, Dhanda, Aashima Ahlawat, and Manisha Keer teamed up to score 328, earning a silver behind China’s dominant 346. Kuwait took bronze with 325. While Ahlawat (106) and Keer (104) missed the individual final, Dhanda’s dual success—team silver and individual gold—makes her the undisputed hero of India’s trap shooting contingent.
The men’s team had a tougher day. Shapath Bharadwaj, Kynan Chenai, and Ahvar Rizvi finished sixth with 339. However, Bharadwaj survived a three-way shoot-off to qualify for the men’s individual final, keeping India’s hopes alive in that division. It’s a mixed bag for the men, but Dhanda’s gold sets the tone for the rest of the Games.
India’s medal tally is growing, aided by earlier wins like the mixed 10m air pistol gold by Kamaljeet and Suruchi Singh. Next, eyes turn to archery, where Kumkum Mohod faces top seed Kang Chae-young of South Korea in the quarterfinals on October 3. Mohod is India’s only remaining woman in the recurve individual event after Kirti Sharma’s loss.