Nagoya, Sept 30:
A borrowed gun, a pond in Bhopal and a cousin’s encouragement marked the beginning of Neeru Dhanda’s remarkable shooting journey. Seven years later, the 26-year-old has made history by becoming the first Indian woman to win an individual shotgun gold at the Asian Games.
A farmer’s daughter from Haryana, Neeru moved to Bhopal in 2019 with barely six months of shooting experience. She initially trained with a gun belonging to her cousin’s father, using a tin as a makeshift target at a pond. Support from the Madhya Pradesh State Shooting Academy, including free guns and ammunition, helped her pursue the sport.
Inspired by her cousin Lakshay Sheoran’s Asian Games silver in 2018, Neeru steadily progressed to the international stage. She is now a Naib Subedar in the Indian Army and trains at the Army Marksmanship Unit in Mhow.
Her journey reached its biggest moment in Nagoya on Tuesday when she won the women’s trap gold with a Games-record score of 28/30. The victory came after she had also helped India win silver in the women’s trap team event, completing an extraordinary rise from makeshift targets to the Asian Games podium.