Neeru Dhanda wins women's trap gold at Asian Games, pays tribute to cousin Lakshya and armed forces
Neeru Dhanda won the women’s trap gold at the 20th Asian Games in Nagoya, Japan on Tuesday, Sept. 29, 2026, and acknowledged her cousin Lakshya Sheoran and the Indian armed forces after the victory.
The 26-year-old from Jind district said she was inspired by Lakshya, who won an Asian Games silver in trap at Palembang eight years ago, and noted she had become the first Indian woman World Cup winner in trap a few months ago. She described both podium finishes as steps toward a larger goal, saying: "Both are equal but everyone knows which is the biggest one. These are only steps leading up to that and I am preparing for that only now."
Reflecting on how her career began, Neeru said: "I shifted to the MP Shooting Academy in Bhopal in 2019, only months after I had started shooting. Lakshya’s parents encouraged me a lot, I started with his father’s old gun only," she admitted. She added that the academy’s support was decisive: "His silver in 2018 inspired me to pick up shooting, before that I didn’t know anything about it. They took me there and the biggest attraction was that the academy provided a free gun and unlimited ammunition to practice. But it changed everything."
Neeru credited former MP sports minister Yashodhara Raje Scindia for setting up the academies and said the minister remained in touch, sending her a message on the morning of the final. She also outlined recent challenges to her preparation, revealing she was hospitalised with a suspected H1N1 illness 10 days before the Games and missed the entire training camp.
On the effects of that illness she said: "The condition was very bad and I didn’t even train during the entire camp. For five days, I was only on liquids.. But my coach (Olympian) Mansher Singh kept motivating me." Despite the setback, Neeru produced the performance that secured the continental title.
A naib subedar in the Indian Army, Neeru dedicated the gold to the Indian armed forces and to Randhir Singh, and offered a message for younger athletes: "It wasn’t easy (winning gold) but I made it easy so that juniors training now and coming up will get the confidence and think if she can do it, anyone can do it. "Hurdles don’t matter when you are committed to win for your family and your country. There is no bigger feeling that doing something for the country. I dedicate this medal to those who serve and lose their lives for the country," she declared.
By winning in Aichi, Neeru went one better than her cousin and became India’s first woman and only the second gold medallist in trap at the Asian Games, completing a rise that included a World Cup title earlier this year. From shooting with a rusted, local gun to becoming a World Cup and Asian Games champion, Neeru’s progress has unfolded over the past seven years. And she is only starting.