India wins first-ever women’s trap gold at Asiad
A determined Neeru Dhanda became the first Indian woman to claim an individual trap shooting gold at the Asian Games, battling relentless rain and plunging temperatures to smash the continental record against a formidable field after guiding the country to a team silver here on Tuesday.
The 26-year-old from Haryana’s Jind ended a 48-year wait for the nation’s second men’s or women’s individual trap gold at the continental showpiece after combining with Aashima Ahlawat and Manisha Keer for the team silver in the same event earlier in the day.
The 5’2” Naib Subedar in the Indian Army produced a stunning display of composure and precision, shooting 28 out of 30 targets in the women’s trap final to finish ahead of China’s Sun Yunong (26) and Kuwait’s Abdulmalik Hajar (21). Neeru could add more to her tally when she teams up with Kynan Chenai in the trap mixed team competition on Wednesday.
On a rain-soaked range where visibility was poor, making it extremely difficult to track the flying clay targets, Neeru refused to buckle, delivering when it mattered most to script a landmark moment for Indian shooting.
Her gold is significant for more than one reason.
It is the first-ever Asian Games individual medal in women’s trap for India and also the country’s first individual shooting gold at the ongoing Games.
Indian rifle and pistol shooters endured a difficult campaign, with the 10m air pistol mixed team gold won by Suruchi Inder Singh and Kamaljeet being the best show before Neeru’s breakthrough.
India’s first Asian Games trap gold came through Randhir Singh in the men’s event at Bangkok in 1978. It took another 32 years for the country to win gold in the discipline, with double-trap shooter Ronjan Sodhi achieving the feat at the 2010 Guangzhou Games.
Neeru has now added another chapter to that legacy, while opening an entirely new one for Indian women in shotgun shooting. The triumph was all the more remarkable given that Neeru was battling a serious health scare barely 10 days before the competition.
Down with a severe bout of flu, possibly H1N1, she was hospitalised in Bhopal and unable to eat for five days. Her participation and form were uncertain, but her personal coach, former international shooter and Commonwealth Games gold-medallist Mansher Singh, urged her to put the illness behind her and go all out.
“Mansher sir only told me to forget what has happened and focus on the target, which I did,” Neeru said after her victory.
That advice proved pivotal as the Jind-born shooter produced a performance that belied her recent ordeal. Her early journey included a move to the Madhya Pradesh Shooting Academy in 2017 after her cousin and 2018 Asian Games silver-winning men’s trap practitioner Lakshay Sheoran encouraged her to take up the sport.
In the finals on Tuesday, Neeru signalled her intent by finishing the four opening rounds of qualification with a commanding 95 out of 100, taking the sole lead into the final day.
Despite the worsening weather, she held her nerve in the fifth and final round, shooting 23 to finish with 118, level with Qatar’s Bassil Ray, and secure her place in the eight-shooter final.
The qualification scores also contributed to the team event, in which Neeru combined with Aashima Ahlawat and Manisha Keer to win silver. Neeru shot 118, Aashima managed 106 and Manisha scored 104, taking India’s aggregate to 328. China claimed gold with 346, while Kuwait secured bronze with 325. In the final, Neeru was relentless from the outset. As the field began to thin after the opening 10 targets, with the first eliminations bringing the contest into sharper focus, she maintained her rhythm and refused to let the weather dictate her performance.
One after another, her rivals faltered in the difficult conditions, but Neeru continued to find the targets with remarkable consistency. Heading into the final five shots, she held a two-point advantage over China’s Sun Yunong, who eventually settled for silver. A brief interruption, during which Neeru was shown a yellow card in a decision that was contested before she was given the benefit, threatened to disrupt her concentration.
India’s British coach Peter Wilson, an Olympic gold-medallist, wrapped Neeru in the Indian tricolour, while the shooter herself remained remarkably composed after producing one of the most significant performances in Indian shotgun history.
Neeru had recently became the first Indian woman to win an ISSF World Cup gold in trap at Lonato, Italy, in a field featuring Olympic medallists and world champions.
But for the Army shooter, the significance of the medal extended far beyond her personal achievement.
“I dedicate this medal to the jawans who guard our borders. My achievement is nothing compared to what they do on the border. I also dedicate the gold to Randhir Singh ji, the first Indian trap shooter to win an Asian Games gold in 1978 in Bangkok. He was such a warm person, always met me with a hug and words of wisdom,” she said.
From a hospital bed in Bhopal to the top of the Asian Games podium, Neeru’s journey has been one of resilience and remarkable precision and she said the ultimate target remains the Olympic Games glory.
“Of course, every athlete dreams of Olympic Games glory and these medals are only stepping stones for the ultimate goal,” she said.
However, India could not fetch podium finishes in the men’s trap competition in either the team or individual events.
