Indian shooter Neeru Dhanda produced a dominant performance to win the women's individual trap gold medal at the Asian Games 2026 on Tuesday. Despite the rainy conditions at the venue, Dhanda held her nerve to finish on top of the eight-shooter final with a score of 26.
As soon as Dhanda hit the target to confirm her gold, coach Peter Wilson jumped in celebration. In a video going viral on social media, Wilson can be seen celebrating with passion. He was holding an umbrella as he pumped his hands, completely destroying it.
The victory capped a remarkable year for Dhanda, who won her maiden ISSF World Cup gold in the women's trap event in Lonato, Italy, in July. The Indian Army Marksmanship Unit shooter, who is also a Naib Subedar, had earlier won the Asian Championship title and has now added an Asian Games gold to her growing list of achievements.
Just 10 days before the competition, Neeru was hospitalised for three days after falling seriously ill. She was suspected to have contracted H1N1 and was so unwell that her participation at the Games was in doubt. She had not even trained for three-and-a-half weeks before arriving in Japan.
Wilson himself is an accomplished shooter and was a 2012 London Olympics gold medallist in double-trap.
