Neeru Dhanda delivered a stellar performance to clinch the Women’s Trap title at the 16th Asian Shooting Championship in Shymkent, Kazakhstan, on Monday, also guiding India to gold in the team event.
Coming off a fourth-place finish at the recent ISSF World Cup in Lonato, 25-year-old Neeru bounced back in style by shooting 43 out of 50 targets in the final to claim the Asian title. This victory marked her first international medal, making the achievement even more special. She finished well ahead of Qatar’s Ray Bassil (37), while fellow Indian shooter Aashima Ahlawat secured bronze with 29, completing a double podium finish for India.
Earlier, Neeru and Aashima had just squeezed into the final round after tying in qualification with identical scores of 107. Neeru then won a shoot-off to secure the fifth spot in the medal round — momentum she carried into a composed and clinical final performance.
India also clinched gold in the Women’s Trap Team, with Neeru, Aashima, and Preeti Rajak combining for a total of 319, ahead of China (silver) and Kuwait (bronze).
In other events, Bhowneesh Mendiratta claimed silver in the Men’s Trap, narrowly missing out on gold with a score of 45, just two hits short of China’s Qi Ying. Chen Pengyu of China took bronze.
In the Women’s 25m Pistol, Manu Bhaker finished fourth with 25 hits, falling just short of the podium. Vietnam’s Thu Vinh Trinh won bronze with 29, while China’s Yueyue Zhang edged teammate Jiaruixuan Xiao in a shoot-off for gold after both tied on 39.
Despite the individual miss, Manu, alongside Esha Singh and Simranpreet Kaur Brar, secured a team bronze with a combined total of 1749, finishing behind China and South Korea. Esha had topped the qualification round with 588, followed closely by Manu (588), while Simranpreet placed 17th and did not make the final.
With Dhanda’s golden double leading the way, India has now secured 17 medals — seven gold, three silver, and seven bronze — in the senior events at the 16th Asian Shooting Championship, with more action still to come.