Neeru Dhanda, who started Shooting after Cousin's Silver, wins Gold Medal in Trap Event at Asian Games 2026

Neeru Dhanda has secured India's first Gold medal at the shooting in the Asian Games 2026 as she clinched an individual gold at the Women's Trap event on Tuesday (September 29).

After a strong qualification round where she finished first and helped to win a team Silver, Neeru continued her purple patch with a superb display in the individual final.

With a score of 28 out of 30, the Indian secured the gold medal, thus fulfilling a stellar dream of hers, since she took the sport of shooting in her teenage days. Her score of 28 was also the best by an Asian, as she easily eclipsed the previous record of 24 by Chinese Taipei's Liu Wan-Yu.

Who is Neeru Dhanda?

Neeru Dhanda is an Indian trap shooter from Haryana's Jind district, who has emerged as one of the country's leading shotgun shooters. The 26-year-old is a Naib Subedar in the Indian Army's Corps of Military Police and trains at the Army Marksmanship Unit in Mhow. She also received support through India's TOPS Development group and Khelo India programme.

Dhanda's introduction to shooting has a strong family connection. She was inspired after watching her maternal cousin Lakshay Sheoran win silver in men's trap at the 2018 Asian Games. Sheoran helped her during her early days, even lending her his gun. Before entering formal training, Dhanda would shoot at tin cans with her family's double-barrel gun. She later joined the Madhya Pradesh State Shooting Academy.

Her breakthrough on the international stage came in 2025, when she won gold at the Asian Shooting Championships. In 2026, Dhanda produced the biggest achievement of her career by becoming the first Indian woman to win an individual ISSF World Cup gold in trap, triumphing at Lonato, Italy. She set a national record of 121/125 in qualification before scoring 27/30 in the final.

She had also claimed a World Cup mixed-team bronze earlier in 2026 alongside Vivaan Kapoor.

At the Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games 2026, Dhanda continued her remarkable run, winning the individual gold and contributing to India's team silver alongside Aashima Ahlawat and Manisha Keer.

From a family gun and tin-can practice to becoming a World Cup champion and Asian Games medallist, Dhanda's rise has been remarkable.