Neeru Dhanda clinched the gold medal in the women’s individual trap shooting event at the 2026 Asian Games on Tuesday, September 29. She won at the Aichi Prefectural General Shooting Gallery in Japan, making India another big shooting success at the continental sporting event.
Dhanda’s gold came after she had already established herself as one of India’s leading trap shooters. She entered the individual final after finishing joint-top in qualification with a score of 118. Her strong qualification performance had placed her among the leading contenders for the title.
Strong Performance in the Final
Dhanda kept her cool in the final and made a strong performance despite rainy conditions at the shooting range. Moneycontrol reported that she got 28 shots in six series to win the gold medal.
In the final, consistency was very important. After leading the qualification round, she carried that momentum through to the final and won the Asian Games title.
From Team Silver to Individual Gold
Dhanda’s gold came on the same day that she helped India win silver in the women’s trap team event.
Dhanda, Aashima Ahlawat, and Manisha Keer scored 328 to finish second behind China, which won team gold with 346. Kuwait took bronze with 325. Dhanda received 118 in qualification, while Ahlawat received 106 and Keer 104.
The team silver gave India an early shooting medal on the day, before Dhanda returned to the range for the individual final and converted her qualification form into gold.
Another Major Milestone for Dhanda
The Asian Games win adds to an already big year for Dhanda. Earlier in 2026, she became the first Indian woman to win an individual ISSF World Cup gold in trap shooting, winning it in Lonato, Italy.
Her World Cup success helped to build expectations around her Asian Games campaign. In the Asian Games, she continued on that path with an individual final and won the gold medal at the Asian Games.
A Historic Day for Indian Shooting
Dhanda’s individual gold is another important achievement for Indian shooting at the 2026 Asian Games. Her success also follows the strong performance of India’s shooting contingent across multiple events.
With her individual title, Dhanda has now added an Asian Games gold medal to her international achievements and strengthened her position as one of India’s prominent trap shooters.
The result on September 29, 2026, shows that the initial claim of Neeru Dhanda winning gold is correct, but the accurate event is the women’s individual trap final at the 2026 Asian Games, not the earlier World Cup event.
