India take silver in women's trap team at Asian Games 2026; Neeru Dhanda qualifies for individual final
India’s women’s trap team of Neeru Dhanda, Aashima Ahlawat and Manisha Keer won silver at the Asian Games 2026 in Aichi-Nagoya, Japan, on Tuesday, September 29. Neeru Dhanda also secured a place in the individual final.
The trio posted a combined total of 328 at the Aichi Prefectural General Shooting Gallery; China won gold with 346 while Kuwait took bronze with 325, three points behind India. Each competitor shot 125 targets over five rounds across three days of qualification, and a team’s score was the sum of its three shooters’ totals.
Neeru registered rounds of 24, 24, 24, 23 and 23 for a total of 118. She did not drop below 23 hits in any round and finished level at the top of the individual qualification standings with Ray Bassil of Qatar, both scoring 118, thereby earning a place in the individual final.
Aashima Ahlawat scored 106 with rounds of 20, 22, 23, 19 and 22 and finished 16th, while Manisha Keer totaled 104 with rounds of 19, 21, 22, 22 and 20 and placed 23rd in a field of 27. Neeru’s 118 was 12 more than Aashima’s 106 and 14 more than Manisha’s 104; only the top eight advanced to the individual final, so neither Aashima nor Manisha progressed.
This silver is India’s second medal in the women’s trap team event, following the Hangzhou 2022 silver won by Manisha Keer, Rajeshwari Kumari and Preeti Rajak, making Manisha a medallist in both editions. It is also India’s 13th shooting medal in Japan; among those 13 medals is a gold won by Kamaljeet and Suruchi Singh in the mixed 10m air pistol.
A day earlier, Esha Singh took silver in the women’s 25m pistol after she and China’s Xiao Jiaruixuan finished level on 38 hits following 50 shots, matching the Asian Games record. Both shot four of five in the first shoot-off, and Xiao won the second shoot-off 3-2; it was Esha’s second straight silver in the event after Hangzhou 2022, where she also won team gold with Manu Bhaker and Rhythm Sangwan.
Neeru Dhanda’s 118 places her among the top eight qualifiers and she will contest the individual final as one of the eight shooters who advanced from qualification.
