Indian shooter Neeru Dhanda secured her first ISSF World Cup gold medal with a composed performance in the women's trap event at the ISSF Shotgun World Cup in Lonato, Italy, on Saturday. She finished with 27 hits out of 30 targets in the final, holding her nerve in a tense finish to achieve the biggest international victory of her career, according to Olympics.com.
First individual shotgun medal for India this season
The triumph marked India's first individual shotgun medal of the ISSF World Cup season and only the country's second medal in shotgun events this year. Neeru entered the medal round in fine form after topping the qualification standings with 121 points out of a possible 125. Carrying that momentum into the eight-woman final, she remained among the frontrunners throughout before setting up a thrilling battle for gold with former world champion and Olympian Carole Cormenier of France.
Thrilling finish against former world champion
The contest went down to the final two shots with both shooters locked at 25 hits apiece. While Cormenier faltered under pressure, Neeru stayed composed to finish with 27 hits and secure the gold medal. Italy's Erica Sessa, a former junior world champion, claimed the bronze medal. Paris 2024 Olympic silver medallist Silvana Stanco endured a disappointing final on home soil, becoming the first shooter to be eliminated from the medal round despite starting among the favourites.
Second World Cup medal of Neeru's career
The victory is Neeru's first individual ISSF World Cup medal and the second World Cup medal of her career. Earlier this year, she teamed up with Vivaan Kumar to win the mixed trap bronze medal at the ISSF World Cup in Almaty. India had another representative in the women's trap qualifiers, with Manisha Keer narrowly missing out on the final after finishing 10th.
Indian men struggle in trap event
The men's trap competition proved disappointing for the Indian contingent as none of the shooters advanced to the medal round. Asian Games medallist Kynan Chenai finished 71st, while Prithviraj Tondaiman, competing for Ranking Points Only (RPO), was the best-placed Indian at 32nd in qualification. Earlier in the competition, none of India's skeet shooters, in either the men's or women's events, managed to qualify for their respective finals. The Lonato meet, the third of four ISSF Shotgun World Cups this season, concludes on Sunday with the mixed trap event.
