Neeru Dhanda wins women's trap gold at Asian Games in Nagoya, helps India to team silver

Neeru Dhanda won the women's trap individual gold for India at the Asian Games in Nagoya on September 29, 2026, becoming the first Indian shooter to claim that title; she recorded a score of 28 and also helped India secure the women's trap team silver.

The 26-year-old from Haryana had earlier in July become the first Indian woman to win a Shotgun World Cup trap gold in Italy. Dhanda's winning total of 28 bettered the previous Asian record of 24. No Indian woman in trap or skeet had previously earned an individual Asian Games shooting medal; Indian male shooters who have won individual Asian Games gold include Randhir Singh in men's individual trap in 1978 and Ronjan Sodhi in men's double trap in 2010.

In qualification Dhanda finished as joint top-scorer at 118 alongside Qatar's Ray Bassil; that 118 is a qualification Games record. Aashima Ahlawat and Manisha Keer scored 106 and 104 respectively in qualification, and finished 16th and 23rd in the individual standings, failing to advance to the final. Dhanda progressed to the eight-shooter final from that qualification position.

India's women's trap team totalled 328 from the combined scores of Neeru Dhanda (118), Aashima Ahlawat (106) and Manisha Keer (104) to take silver behind China, whose Liu Shanshan, Sun Yunong and Zhu Jingyu combined for 346. Kuwait's trio of Alhawal Shahad, Abdulmalik Hajar and Alhawal Sarah claimed bronze with a combined total of 325. Those team totals decided the medals in the women's trap event.

The Indian men's trap contingent finished sixth among 10 teams, with the trio of Shapath Bharadwaj, Kynan Chenai and Ahvar Rizvi posting a combined total of 339. Kuwait won the men's team gold with 355, Qatar took silver with 349 and Kazakhstan earned bronze with 348. The Indian men's trap side of Chenai, Zoravar Singh Sandhu and Prithviraj Tondaiman had won the team gold at the previous edition in China.

Shapath Bharadwaj, a 24-year-old from Meerut, secured the eighth and final qualification spot for the men's final by prevailing in a shoot-off and edging out Mohammed Al-Rumaihi. His shoot-off victory guarantees his place in the men's trap final, making him India's representative in that concluding contest.