Nagoya, Sep 28 (PTI) Neeru Dhanda is breaking new ground in Indian women’s shotgun shooting. The world No. 13 took the sole lead in the women’s trap qualification at the Asian Games on Monday, moving closer to an elusive individual gold that no Indian woman has won before.
Fresh from becoming the first Indian woman to win an ISSF World Cup gold in shotgun, at Lonato, the heartland of the sport, the 26-year-old picked up from where she had left off on the opening day, underlining her credentials as a serious contender for the title.
Neeru, who had shot 24 in each of her two rounds on Sunday, maintained her consistency with scores of 24 and 23 on Monday to take her aggregate to 95 after four rounds. She holds a one-point advantage over Qatar’s Bassil Ray, with a group of three shooters a further point behind, keeping the contest finely poised ahead of the final day of qualification.
The shooters will fire their fifth and final round of 25 shots on Tuesday, after which the top eight will advance to the final. Neeru, a Naib Subedar in the Army from Haryana’s Jind district, will also be spearheading India’s hopes of a team medal alongside Manisha Keer and Aashima Ahlawat.
Manisha and Aashima are both placed 20th with identical scores of 84, taking India’s combined tally to 263 and placing the team third in the standings. China lead with 278, while Kuwait are second with 265. With only six teams competing in the women’s trap, India remain in the hunt for a podium finish, although they will need a strong final round to close the gap.
In the team event, each shooter fires five rounds of 25 shots over three days, with the combined score of the three shooters determining the medal positions.
Meanwhile, young Indian shooter Shapath Bharadwaj produced a stirring recovery in the men’s trap qualification, bouncing back from an indifferent opening day to move into joint fifth place after four rounds.
Having shot 24 and 21 on Sunday, Shapath responded emphatically on Monday, producing two perfect rounds of 25 to take his aggregate to 95 and revive his hopes of making the final.
Chinese Taipei’s Yang Kun-Pi leads the standings with 98, followed by China’s Qi Ying on 97. Kuwait’s experienced duo of Talal Alrashidi and Khaled Almudhaf are joint third with 96 each, while Shapath is among four shooters sharing fifth place.
India’s other two shooters, however, remain some way off the pace. Kynan Chenai, the country’s established name in the discipline, is languishing in joint 16th place with 91, while Ahvar Rizvi is tied 31st with 87 in a 40-shooter field.
The Indian trio of Shapath, Kynan and Rizvi have a combined score of 273, leaving them sixth in the team standings. Kuwait lead the race for the team gold with 287, putting India under pressure to produce a significant turnaround in the final round. PTI AM
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