Neeru Dhanda wins women's trap gold at Asian Games 2026 with Asian record

Dhanda claims historic trap gold

Neeru Dhanda, a 26-year-old shooter from Haryana, became the first Indian woman to win an Asian Games gold in trap, taking the women's individual title at the Aichi Pref. General Shooting Gallery in Nagoya on Tuesday with a final score of 28 out of 30 that also set a new Asian record, surpassing the previous mark of 24. Her first miss on the ninth shot briefly dropped her to third, but she recovered to move to the top with 19 hits across her next 20 attempts and sealed the result with a perfect closing series.

Qualification and team silver earlier in the day

Dhanda reached the eight-shooter final tied with Qatar's Ray Bassil on 118, described as a Games qualification record. Earlier the same day she had partnered Aashima Ahlawat and Manisha Keer to a combined score of 328 in the women's trap team event, securing team silver behind China's 346, with Ahlawat and Keer finishing 16th and 23rd respectively in individual qualification.

Podium and an unresolved attribution

China's Yunong Sun took silver on 26, while the bronze was credited by different outlets to different athletes and countries. Moneycontrol identified the bronze medalist as Hajar Abdulmalik of the UAE on 21, whereas Assam Tribune and CNBC TV18 reported Kuwait's team taking bronze, and CNBC TV18 listed the Kuwait trio as Alhawal Shahad, Abdulmalik Hajar and Alhawal Sarah with a combined 325 in the team event. The available sources do not resolve which account applies to the individual bronze.

Wider Indian shooting picture at Aichi-Nagoya

The trap gold was reported as India's second shooting gold of the Games and fifth overall gold at Aichi-Nagoya. In the men's trap, Shapath Bharadwaj advanced to the individual final via a shoot-off, with the men's team of Bharadwaj, Kynan Chenai and Ahvar Rizvi placing sixth on a combined 339; CNBC TV18 also reported that Kuwait took men's team gold on 355, with Qatar (349) and Kazakhstan (348) filling the other podium spots.

Building form in 2025 and 2026

Dhanda had become the first Indian woman to win an ISSF Shotgun World Cup gold at Lonato in July, and Moneycontrol reported she also won gold at the 2025 Asian Championships. Indian trap history at the Asian Games had previously been limited to men's individual golds by Randhir Singh in 1978 and Ronjan Sodhi in the men's double trap in 2010.

What's next on the range

Attention turns to Shapath Bharadwaj's men's individual trap final at the same Aichi-Nagoya venue as the shooting program continues, with CNBC TV18 noting India was also chasing medals elsewhere on the Games schedule.