Asian Games 2026 cricket match between India and Afghanistan: India advances to the semifinals following a quarterfinal washout

Hours after helping India win silver in the team shooting competition, Neeru Dhanda won the gold medal in the women’s trap with an Asian record at the Asian Games 2026 on Tuesday.
In the final at the Aichi Prefectural General Shooting Gallery, the 26-year-old Indian shooter finished two ahead of Sun Yunong of the People’s Republic of China after hitting 28 of 30 targets and missing only two. Hajar Abdulmalik of Kuwait took up the bronze with 21.

Neeru became the first Indian woman to win a gold medal in any shotgun event at the Asian Games with a score of 28, surpassing the previous Asian record of 24. Additionally, she won the first-ever individual medal for India in the women’s trap competition at the Asian Games, which was first held in Beijing in 1990. After Suruchi Singh and Kamaljeet won the 10m air pistol mixed team title, this was India’s second gold in shooting at the Asian Games 2026.

Before missing one target in the second series, Neeru began the final with a perfect five hits. In response, she moved to 19 hits from 20 targets with two straight perfect series, giving her a two-point lead over her closest competitors. Neeru finished on 28 and won the gold medal in the fifth series after missing just once more. With 118 out of 125, she had also won the three-day qualification. After finishing tied with Ray Bassil of Qatar, Neeru won the first-place shoot-off.

Neeru Dhanda, Aashima Ahlawat, and Manisha Keer won silver in the women’s trap team competition earlier in the day with a combined score of 328. With her 118, Neeru led India to the silver medal, with contributions from Aashima and Manisha of 106 and 104, respectively. Zhu Jingyu, the 2014 Asian Games women’s trap champion, was part of China’s three that won the team gold with 346. With 325, Kuwait won bronze. Neeru Dhanda, who came to Aichi-Nagoya as the current Asian champion after winning the continental title at Shymkent in 2025, extended an outstanding run of success with the gold.

She also won the gold in the ISSF World Cup at Lonato, Italy, in July of this year, making history as the first Indian women trap shooter to do so. Neeru shot 27 in the final after setting a national record in qualification with a score of 121 out of 125. Neeru’s individual gold and the women’s team silver took India’s shooting tally at the Asian Games 2026 to 14 medals – two gold, eight silver and four bronze.