Neeru Dhanda Leads India's Record Shooting Haul at Asian Games

India's shooting contingent delivered a record-breaking performance at the Asian Games 2026 in Aichi-Nagoya. The team secured 15 medals comprising three gold, eight silver, and four bronze, finishing second in the shooting medal standings behind China. The campaign featured podium finishes across rifle, pistol, and shotgun events.

Neeru Dhanda's Historic Achievements

Neeru Dhanda secured two gold medals, becoming the first Indian woman to win Asian Games gold in trap. She won the women's trap individual event with a final score of 26. Dhanda also claimed gold in the mixed team trap event, setting a new Asian Games record.

Her success extended to the team event, where she won a silver medal alongside Aashima Ahlawat and Manisha Keer in the women's trap team competition. Dhanda had topped the individual qualification. Her individual gold brought India's total medal tally at the Games to 47, specifically the nation's fifth gold.

Team Medal Haul

The Indian shooting team's 15-medal haul included multiple team podium finishes. The first shooting gold came from the 10m air pistol mixed team event, where Suruchi Singh and Kamaljeet set a new Asian Games record with a score of 484.6.

Elavenil Valarivan won silver in the women's 10m air rifle individual event. Rudrankksh Patil added a bronze in the men's 10m air rifle individual and a silver in the team event. Both the men's and women's skeet shooting teams won bronze medals.

Other Day 5 Performances

India added four medals on the fifth day of competition, including one silver and three bronze, bringing its total count to 12 at that stage. This was insufficient to maintain its previous ranking, and the country dropped to 13th place in the overall medal standings.

Medals came from other sports on that day. Mirabai Chanu won a silver in women's 49kg weightlifting, ending a 28-year wait for an Indian weightlifting medal at the Asian Games. Jay Meena secured bronze in men's singles soft tennis, India's first-ever medal in the sport.

China extended its lead on Day 5, finishing with 47 gold medals and 77 total medals. Japan and South Korea were ranked second and third respectively. In the women's trap team event, China won gold with a score of 346, while Kuwait took bronze with 325.

Neeru Dhanda's individual gold secured India's fifth gold medal at the Aichi-Nagoya Games.