Nagoya, Sept. 29 -- Neeru Dhanda on Tuesday scripted history by becoming India's first shooter to win an Asian Games individual gold medal in the women's trap competition with a record-shattering score after leading the country to a team silver in the same event here.
The 26-year-old from Haryana, who became the first Indian woman to win a World Cup trap gold medal in July this year, won the gold at Aichi Prefecture General Shooting Gallery with a score of 28, surpassing the previous Asian Record of 24.
China's Sun Yunong took the silver with a score of 26, while Kuwait's Abdulmalik Hajar
settled for bronze after shooting 21.
"I dedicate this medal to the soldiers of the Indian Army who do a much bigger task defending the nation and to Late Raja Randhir Singh, who won India's first trap gold in the Asian Games back in 1978," Neeru said.
"My cousin Lakshay Sheoran, who is a trap silver-medallist from the 2018 Jakarta Asian Games motivated me to take up trap shooting. I eventually moved to the Madhya Pradesh Shooting Academy in Bhopal because I was getting the gun and ammunition for free," she added while talking about her journey so far.
No Indian woman trap shooter had won an individual medal at the Asian Games before this.
After Randhir Singh's historic gold in the men's individual trap event of the 1978 edition, Ronjan Sodhi claimed the top honours in the men's double trap event at the 2010 Asiad.
Neeru had qualified for the eight-shooter final after finishing as joint topper along with Qatar's Ray Bassil at 118, which is a qualification Games record.
The trio of Neeru (118), Aashima Ahlawat (106) and Manisha Keer (104) finished with a combined total of 328 to end second behind gold-medallists China (346) in the women's event.
The Chinese team comprised Liu Shanshan, Sun Yunong and Zhu Jingyu.
Published by HT Digital Content Services with permission from Millennium Post.