Prateek Tanmay
2 min readJul 11, 2026 10:51 PM IST
26-year-old Neeru Dhanda produced a memorable performance at the ISSF Shotgun World Cup in Lonato to clinch India’s first-ever gold medal in the women’s trap event. She also ended India’s wait of 16 years for an individual medal at World Cup stage after Seema Tomar’s silver back in 2010.
This is the biggest medal Neeru has won in her career after clinching the Asian Championships gold medal last year and a mixed team bronze event at the ISSF World Cup in Almaty. The mixed team medal was the country’s second medal in the event since the event was reintroduced in Olympics.
Neeru, who hails from Haryana’s Jind district, is the reigning national champion and missed just three shots in the eight-shooter final to win the gold medal. France’s Carole Cormenier, a former world champion, settled for silver with 25, while Italy’s Erica Sessa claimed the bronze.
🇮🇳 Neeru hits 27 in a tense Trap Women Final to earn India their first shotgun gold of the 2026 World Cup season.#ISSF #ShootingSport pic.twitter.com/szOe4ckdyb
— ISSF (@issf_official) July 11, 2026
Neeru topped the qualifying round with a scored 121 out of 125. It was flawless shooting from her in the opening three rounds where she scored 75 out of 75. In the next three rounds, she missed two targets in the fourth round and another two in the fifth to finish at the top.
Neeru currently trains under India’s foreign coach and London Olympics gold medallist Peter Wilson.
The fiercely competitive field saw two shooters finish the qualification with scores of 120, while another five were involved in a shoot-off to determine the remaining placings in the eight-shooter final. Neeru’s compatriot Manisha Keer narrowly missed out on a place in the final after shooting 117 out of 125 to finish 10th.
The third Indian in the fray, Aashima Ahlawat, finished joint 80th in the 106-shooter field.
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India’s men’s trap shooters, meanwhile, endured another disappointing outing, finishing well down the pecking order in their final international competition before the Asian Games in Aichi-Nagoya in September-October.
