New Delhi: National Games champion Neeru Dhanda enjoyed one of the most successful days in her career after clinching the women’s trap gold medal at the Asian Shooting Championship in Shymkent (Kazakhstan) on Monday. Neeru shot 43 in the final to win the top podium spot ahead of Qatar’s Bassil Ray (37) and Aashima Ahlawat (29).
Meanwhile, India’s Bhowneesh Mendiratta claimed a bronze medal in the men’s trap final after shooting 45 to grab silver. Chinese shooters Ying Qi (47) and Pengyu Chen (35) won the gold and bronze medals, respectively.
Earlier in the day, double Olympic medallist Manu Bhaker failed to land a podium spot and finished fourth in the women’s 25m pistol competition. Bhaker’s compatriot Esha Singh finished sixth in the eight-woman final with 18 points.
Chinese shooters Yueyue Zhang and Jiaruixuan Xiao produced a dominant performance and won the senior women’s gold and silver medals, respectively.
Bhaker’s final score was 25, four less than Vietnam’s bronze medallist Thu Vinh Trinh (29). Neeru, Aashima and Preeti Rajak also claimed the gold in women’s trap with 319 ahead of China and Kuwait.
Indian shooters sweep the junior event
India’s shooters dominated the 25m pistol women junior final, with Payal Khatri winning the gold with a total of 36, Naamya Kapoor (30) clinching silver and Tejaswani (27) claiming the bronze.
The trio also won the team silver after aggregating 1700, finishing behind Korea and ahead of hosts Kazakhstan.
While Naamya and Tejaswini finished in a strong one-two position in the qualifications, Payal entered the junior final in sixth place.
The Indian trio of Bhaker, Esha and Simranpreet Kaur Brar bagged a bronze with an aggregate score of 1749, finishing behind China and South Korea.
Esha was at the top of her game in women’s 25m pistol qualifications, finishing ahead of Bhaker and the two Chinese medallists Xiao and Zhang.