Asian Shooting C'ships: Neeru Dhanda wins Trap gold; Manu Bhaker finishes 4th

Indian shooters touched the 50-medal mark at the ongoing 16th Asian Shooting Championship in Shymkent, Kazakhstan, on Monday, powered by Neeru Dhanda’s women’s trap gold and a podium sweep by the junior women’s 25m pistol trio.

In a gripping women’s trap final, 20-year-old National Games champion Neeru Dhanda produced her career-best performance, striking 43 hits to claim gold.

Qatar’s Ray Bassil followed with 37, while compatriot Aashima Ahlawat secured bronze with 29. Neeru, who is also the cousin of trap shooter Lakshay Sheoran and recently finished fourth at the Shotgun World Cup in Lonato, Italy, was flawless in the final stages - hitting all her last 10 targets to seal the top spot.

India also clinched the team gold in women’s trap with Neeru, Aashima, and Preeti Rajak combining for 319 points, well ahead of China and Kuwait.

The spotlight then shifted to the junior women’s 25m pistol, where India registered a clean sweep. Payal Khatri fired her way to gold with 36 hits, supported by a strong finish including a perfect 5/5 in the final series. Naamya Kapoor took silver with 30, while Tejaswini, fresh from her junior ISSF World Cup win, bagged bronze with 27.

The trio also combined with Riya Shirish Thatte to secure the team silver (1700 points), behind Korea but ahead of hosts Kazakhstan.

Meanwhile, in the men’s trap, Bhowneesh Mendiratta delivered a solid performance to claim silver with 45 hits, narrowly missing out to China’s Paris Olympic silver medallist Qi Ying.

In the senior women’s 25m pistol, double Olympic medallist Manu Bhaker and former junior world champion Esha Singh reached the final but missed out on medals, finishing fourth and sixth respectively.

China’s Zhang Yueyue and Xiao Jiaruixian took gold and silver, with Vietnam’s Thu Vinh Trinh claiming bronze. However, the Indian trio of Manu, Esha, and Simranpreet Kaur Brar earned a team bronze with 1749 points.

With three competition days left, India’s shooters sit atop the standings with 28 gold, 10 silver, and 12 bronze medals.