Neeru Dhanda makes history: First Indian woman to win individual Asian Games gold in trap
PTC Web Desk: Indian shooter Neeru Dhanda created history in Nagoya on Tuesday by becoming the first Indian woman to win an individual Asian Games gold medal in the trap event.
The 26-year-old Haryana shooter produced a brilliant performance in the final, finishing with 28 points. Her score also broke the previous Asian record of 24.
Neeru Dhanda had already helped India secure a silver medal in the women’s trap team event before winning the individual title.
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Her gold is another major milestone in a breakthrough year. In July, Dhanda became the first Indian woman to win a World Cup gold in the trap event when she topped the podium at the Shotgun World Cup in Italy.
Dhanda entered the eight-shooter final after finishing joint first in qualification with Qatar’s Ray Bassil. Both shooters recorded 118 points, a Games qualification record.
India also had Aashima Ahlawat and Manisha Keer in the women’s trap competition. The Indian trio finished second in the team event with a combined score of 328. China won the team gold with 346 points, while Kuwait took bronze with 325.
Ahlawat and Keer could not make the individual final after finishing 16th and 23rd respectively in qualification.
Historic achievement for Indian women shooters
Before Dhanda, no Indian woman had won an individual medal in trap or skeet at the Asian Games.
India’s previous individual Asian Games gold medals in trap-related events came in the men’s competition. Randhir Singh won the men’s trap title in 1978, while Ronjan Sodhi won gold in men’s double trap at the 2010 Games.
Shapath Bharadwaj reaches men's final
India's men’s trap team finished sixth among 10 teams, but Shapath Bharadwaj made it to the individual final.
The 24-year-old from Meerut finished eighth in qualification and secured the final spot after winning a shoot-off for the last two places against Qatar’s Mohammed Al-Rumaihi.
Bharadwaj, Kynan Chenai and Ahvar Rizvi combined for 339 points in the team event.
Kuwait won the men’s team gold with 355 points, followed by Qatar with 349 and Kazakhstan with 348.
India had won the men’s trap team gold at the last Asian Games in China, where Kynan Chenai, Zoravar Singh Sandhu and Prithviraj Tondaiman formed the gold-winning team.
Boxing: Parveen Hooda in final after 5-0 win over Xu Li
India’s Parveen Hooda stormed into the women’s 65kg boxing final after defeating China’s Xu Li 5-0 in the semifinal.
All five judges ruled in Parveen’s favour as she put up a dominant performance to secure her place in the title clash.
Parveen is now assured of at least a silver medal and will fight for gold in the final against Chen Nien-chin of Chinese Taipei.
Squash: India beat Iran 3-0, win all group matches
India completed a 3-0 victory over Iran in the squash team event, winning all three of their group-stage matches.
Joshna Chinappa defeated Iran’s Najmeh Boushehrizadeh 3-0, winning 11-1, 11-3, 11-9.
With the win, India finished the group stage unbeaten and advanced to the quarterfinals, where they will face Singapore tomorrow.
- PTC NEWS
