Neeru Dhanda won gold in women’s trap shooting at the Asian Games 2026 on September 29 with an Asian record score of 28 out of 30, becoming the first Indian woman to win an Asian Games gold in any shotgun event.
Winning a first-ever gold in a discipline and setting a continental record in the same performance is a rare combination. Most ‘first’ medals come from solid, competitive performances rather than record-breaking ones, since there is no established benchmark yet to measure against.
That Dhanda’s individual gold followed a team silver earlier the same day also points to sustained composure across multiple high-pressure rounds in a single day, rather than a single standout performance in isolation.
Shotgun events like trap have historically been a smaller part of India’s shooting medal count compared to rifle and pistol disciplines, so a gold here signals the sport’s competitive base broadening into a discipline where India has had less depth previously.
For a shooting programme already producing medals across multiple disciplines at these Games, a first-ever, record-setting result in a newer event is a useful indicator that the pipeline extends beyond the sport’s traditionally strongest categories.
Dhanda is 26 years old.
India’s medal tally at the Asian Games rose to 48 following her win, including five gold, 21 silver and 22 bronze medals.
The Asian Games 2026 are being held in Aichi-Nagoya, Japan, from September 19 to October 4.
India’s shooting programme has produced multiple medals across rifle, pistol and shotgun events at these Games.
Trap shooting involves hitting clay targets launched from a single trap house at varying angles and speeds.
India has separately won medals across other sports at these Games, including cricket, hockey, squash and javelin.
Neeru Dhanda’s gold adds to a broader rise in India’s shotgun shooting results in recent years.
Trap shooting (representative image), Wikimedia Commons, public domain