Nagoya: Neeru Dhanda strengthened India’s hopes of a historic gold medal in women’s trap shooting at the Asian Games 2026 after taking the outright lead in qualification on Monday. The 26-year-old Indian shooter, ranked No. 13 in the world, produced another consistent performance to move closer to a place in the final and potentially become the first Indian woman to win an individual Asian Games gold in the discipline.
Fresh from making history at the ISSF World Cup in Lonato, where she became the first Indian woman to win a World Cup gold in shotgun shooting, Neeru continued her impressive form at the Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games.
After shooting 24 in each of her two rounds on Sunday, Neeru maintained her consistency on Monday with scores of 24 and 23. Her aggregate of 95 after four rounds placed her at the top of the qualification standings, giving her a one-point advantage over Qatar’s Bassil Ray.
Three shooters are a further point behind, leaving the qualification battle finely balanced heading into the final round.
Neeru leads India’s individual gold hopes
The women’s trap qualification will conclude on Tuesday, when every shooter completes the fifth and final round of 25 shots. The top eight shooters after all five rounds will qualify for the final, where the individual medals will be decided.
Neeru’s position at the top of the standings gives her a strong platform going into the final qualification round. However, with several competitors closely packed behind her, she will need another composed performance to secure one of the eight final spots.
The Indian shooter has already enjoyed a breakthrough year in international shotgun shooting. Her World Cup gold at Lonato was a landmark achievement for Indian women’s shotgun shooting and added to the expectations surrounding her campaign at the Asian Games.
Neeru is also a Naib Subedar in the Indian Army and hails from Haryana’s Jind district. Her consistency across the first four rounds has placed her at the centre of India’s medal hopes in the women’s trap event.
India third in women’s team standings
Neeru is not India’s only medal contender in the women’s trap competition. She is competing alongside Manisha Keer and Aashima Ahlawat in the team event.
Manisha and Aashima are currently joint 20th with identical scores of 84 after four rounds. Their performances, combined with Neeru’s 95, have taken India’s total to 263.
India are currently third in the team standings. China lead the competition with 278, while Kuwait are second with 265.
Only six teams are competing in the women’s trap team event, meaning India remain firmly in contention for a podium finish. However, the sizeable gap to the leaders means the Indian trio will need a strong final qualification round to improve their position.
In the team event, each of the three shooters completes five rounds of 25 shots over three days. The combined scores of the three members determine the final team standings.
India’s 263 after four rounds leaves them just two points behind Kuwait, while China have established a more substantial lead.
Shapath Bharadwaj stages strong recovery
In the men’s trap qualification, young Indian shooter Shapath Bharadwaj produced an impressive turnaround on Monday to revive his hopes of reaching the final.
Shapath had endured a difficult opening day, recording scores of 24 and 21 to finish Sunday with an aggregate of 45. He responded strongly on Monday, however, shooting two perfect rounds of 25.
The back-to-back 25s took his four-round aggregate to 95 and moved him into joint fifth place in the individual qualification standings.
Chinese Taipei’s Yang Kun-Pi leads the men’s competition with 98, while China’s Qi Ying is second with 97. Kuwait’s experienced shooters Talal Alrashidi and Khaled Almudhaf are joint third with 96 each.
Shapath is among four shooters sharing fifth place, putting him within reach of a qualification spot for the final.
Kynan and Rizvi face uphill task
India’s other two men’s trap shooters are further down the standings.
Kynan Chenai, one of India’s established names in the discipline, is joint 16th with a score of 91 after four rounds. Ahvar Rizvi is tied 31st with 87 in a field of 40 shooters.
The individual standings leave both shooters with considerable ground to make up in the final qualification round.
The Indian men’s trio has a combined score of 273, placing the country sixth in the team standings.
Kuwait are currently leading the men’s team competition with 287. The gap means India will need a significant improvement in the final round if they are to challenge for a team medal.
Final qualification round holds key to India’s campaign
Tuesday’s fifth and final qualification round will determine which shooters advance to the individual finals and how the team medal race develops.
For Neeru Dhanda, the immediate focus will be on maintaining her consistency and securing a top-eight finish before turning her attention to the individual medal contest. Her one-point lead provides an advantage, but the narrow margins at the top mean the final qualification round remains crucial.
India’s women’s team also remains in medal contention, with the trio currently third after four rounds. In the men’s competition, Shapath’s recovery has brought him back into the individual qualification race, although India’s team remains sixth.
The results on Tuesday will therefore be important across both competitions. Neeru’s position at the top gives India a significant individual medal opportunity, while the women’s team will seek to close the gap on China and Kuwait.
With the qualification stages approaching their conclusion, India’s shooters remain in contention for medals across both the individual and team events at the Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by News Karnataka staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)