{"id":32114,"date":"2026-10-04T02:22:51","date_gmt":"2026-10-04T02:22:51","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/koshalsambada.in\/?p=32114"},"modified":"2026-10-04T02:22:51","modified_gmt":"2026-10-04T02:22:51","slug":"exclusive-asian-games-gold-done-neeru-dhanda-eyes-olympic-shotgun-medal-to-end-wait-since-rajyavardhan-rathores-2004-silver-asian-games-2026-news","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/koshalsambada.in\/?p=32114","title":{"rendered":"EXCLUSIVE | Asian Games gold done, Neeru Dhanda eyes Olympic shotgun medal to end wait since Rajyavardhan Rathore\u2019s 2004 silver | Asian Games 2026 News"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><br \/>\n<\/p>\n<div>\n<div class=\"e9jwa\">\n<div class=\"vdo_embedd\">\n<div class=\"GfdvZ\">\n<section class=\"_bIDB  clearfix id-r-component leadmedia undefined undefined  E9tg9 \" style=\"top:0px\">\n<div class=\"_bIDB\" data-ua-type=\"1\" onclick=\"stpPgtnAndPrvntDefault(event)\">\n<div class=\"ypVvZ\">\n<div class=\"WGttI\"><img src=\"https:\/\/static.toiimg.com\/thumb\/msid-134668863,imgsize-97422,width-400,height-225,resizemode-4\/asian-games-2026-shooting.jpg\" alt=\"EXCLUSIVE | Asian Games gold done, Neeru Dhanda eyes Olympic shotgun medal to end wait since Rajyavardhan Rathore\u2019s 2004 silver\" title=\"India's Neeru Dhanda (PTI Photo)\" decoding=\"async\" fetchpriority=\"high\"\/><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"Ta7d_ img_cptn\"><span title=\"India's Neeru Dhanda (PTI Photo)\">India&#8217;s Neeru Dhanda (PTI Photo)<\/span><\/div>\n<\/section>\n<\/div><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p>NEW DELHI: Days before leaving for the Asian Games 2026, Neeru Dhanda was hospitalised with viral fever. She had barely any time to recover before boarding the flight to Japan. There was no proper recovery period.<!-- --> Just medicines, ORS, and a dream of winning a medal at the Asian Games.<span class=\"id-r-component br\" data-pos=\"3\"\/>When she reached Aichi-Nagoya and entered her hotel room, Neeru picked up her gun and told herself three words: &#8220;Nerru, tu training pe hai (Neeru, you are in training.&#8221;<span class=\"id-r-component br\" data-pos=\"5\"\/><span class=\"id-r-component br\" data-pos=\"7\"\/>It was a message she wanted to give her own mind &#8211; a way of staying focused and refusing to think about the illness.<span class=\"id-r-component br\" data-pos=\"9\"\/>With water bottles, ORS and medicines by her side, Neeru kept her dream alive. <!-- -->The trap shooter, who had won gold at the ISSF World Cup in Lonato earlier this year, eventually stepped onto the range, loaded her ammunition and shot her way to glory.<span class=\"id-r-component br\" data-pos=\"14\"\/>She finished the Asian Games with three medals &#8211; two golds and a silver &#8211; emerging as one of India&#8217;s standout performers.<span class=\"id-r-component br\" data-pos=\"16\"\/><span class=\"strong\" data-ua-type=\"1\" onclick=\"stpPgtnAndPrvntDefault(event)\">From illness to three medals<\/span><span class=\"id-r-component br\" data-pos=\"18\"\/>Neeru first won gold in the women&#8217;s individual trap event. She then teamed up with Manisha Keer and Aashima Ahlawat to win silver in the women&#8217;s trap team event. On the penultimate day of the shooting competition, she partnered Kynan Chenai to win gold in the trap mixed team event.<span class=\"id-r-component br\" data-pos=\"22\"\/><\/p>\n<div data-pos=\"0\" class=\"id-r-component iIpbx undefined  &#10;        \">\n<div><img decoding=\"async\" alt=\"India's Manisha Keer, Ashima Ahlawat and Neeru Dhanda pose&lt;br&gt;\" msid=\"134668891\" imgsize=\"169026\" resizemode=\"4\" width=\"\" title=\"Nagoya: From left, India's Manisha Keer, Ashima Ahlawat and Neeru Dhanda pose with the national flag after winning the silver medal. (PTI Photo)\" placeholdersrc=\"https:\/\/static.toiimg.com\/photo\/83033472.cms\" offsetvertical=\"0\" placeholdermsid=\"47529300\" type=\"thumb\" class=\"\" src=\"https:\/\/static.toiimg.com\/photo\/imgsize-169026,msid-134668891\/indias-manisha-keer-ashima-ahlawat-and-neeru-dhanda-posebr.jpg\" data-api-prerender=\"true\"\/><\/p>\n<p>Nagoya: From left, India&#8217;s Manisha Keer, Ashima Ahlawat and Neeru Dhanda pose with the national flag after winning the silver medal. (PTI Photo)<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p><span class=\"id-r-component br\" data-pos=\"24\"\/>But behind the three medals was a battle that began even before she reached the shooting range.<span class=\"id-r-component br\" data-pos=\"26\"\/>\u201cI didn&#8217;t let my mind receive the message that I was sick or unwell. I didn&#8217;t want to let myself think that I was sick. Whenever I felt down or weak, I used to tell myself loudly, \u2018Neeru, tu training pe hai abhi.\u2019 This is what kept me motivated throughout the Asian Games,\u201d Neeru told TimesofIndia.com in an exclusive interview.<span class=\"id-r-component br\" data-pos=\"29\"\/>\u201cHonestly, I felt very weak because there was no recovery period after the hospitalisation. I thought about skipping the Games, but no, I am very stubborn. I wanted to do something different. Very few people get this opportunity. I was lucky that I got it, and I am happy that I delivered,\u201d she said.<span class=\"id-r-component br\" data-pos=\"31\"\/><\/p>\n<div data-pos=\"0\" class=\"id-r-component iIpbx undefined  &#10;        \">\n<div><img decoding=\"async\" alt=\"Gold medallist India's Neeru Dhanda, left, and Kynan Chenai&lt;br&gt;\" msid=\"134668901\" imgsize=\"7485267\" resizemode=\"4\" width=\"\" title=\"Gold medallist India's Neeru Dhanda, left, and Kynan Chenai (PTI Photo)\" placeholdersrc=\"https:\/\/static.toiimg.com\/photo\/83033472.cms\" offsetvertical=\"0\" placeholdermsid=\"47529300\" type=\"thumb\" class=\"\" src=\"https:\/\/static.toiimg.com\/photo\/imgsize-7485267,msid-134668901\/gold-medallist-indias-neeru-dhanda-left-and-kynan-chenaibr.jpg\" data-api-prerender=\"true\"\/><\/p>\n<p>Gold medallist India&#8217;s Neeru Dhanda, left, and Kynan Chenai (PTI Photo)<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p><span class=\"id-r-component br\" data-pos=\"33\"\/><span class=\"strong\" data-ua-type=\"1\" onclick=\"stpPgtnAndPrvntDefault(event)\">A medal dedicated to Raja <\/span><span class=\"strong\" data-ua-type=\"1\" onclick=\"stpPgtnAndPrvntDefault(event)\">Randhir<\/span><span class=\"strong\" data-ua-type=\"1\" onclick=\"stpPgtnAndPrvntDefault(event)\"> Singh<\/span><span class=\"id-r-component br\" data-pos=\"37\"\/>Neeru dedicated her three-medal haul to late Raja Randhir Singh, India&#8217;s first Asian Games shooting gold medallist, who passed away aged 79 in May. <!-- -->Randhir, a five-time Olympian, had won India&#8217;s first Asian Games shooting gold in 1978.<span class=\"id-r-component br\" data-pos=\"41\"\/>Neeru had met him a few times and remembered the encouragement he gave her.<span class=\"id-r-component br\" data-pos=\"43\"\/>\u201cI dedicate these medals to late Raja Randhir Singh. He was a lovely soul. I got to meet him a couple of times. Whenever he met me, he blessed me. He always said, \u2018Beta, be brave. You are a shooter, you need to be brave. Shoot with bravery, you will get the result.\u2019 Those words helped me a lot in Aichi-Nagoya,\u201d Neeru said.<span class=\"id-r-component br\" data-pos=\"46\"\/>&#8220;I also want to dedicate to my federation, SAI, SAI Bhopal, Bhopa Shooting Academy where I train, my coaches, and everyone who has been with me throughout this journey,&#8221; she said.<span class=\"id-r-component br\" data-pos=\"48\"\/><span class=\"strong\" data-ua-type=\"1\" onclick=\"stpPgtnAndPrvntDefault(event)\">Mission Olympics begins<\/span><span class=\"id-r-component br\" data-pos=\"50\"\/>The World Cup is done. The Asian Games are done. Now, Neeru has set her sights on the Los Angeles Olympics. Her immediate target is the World Championship in Doha, which will offer a quota opportunity for the 2028 Olympics.<span class=\"id-r-component br\" data-pos=\"53\"\/>\u201cThe moment I leave Japan, my target will shift towards the World Championship in Doha. That is a quota competition for the Los Angeles Olympics, so I will focus on that. That is my ultimate goal. Olympics mein medal jeetna hai,\u201d she said.<span class=\"id-r-component br\" data-pos=\"55\"\/>India have won several Olympic medals in shooting, but the shotgun disciplines have produced only one Olympic medal for the country &#8211; Rajyavardhan Singh Rathore&#8217;s silver in men&#8217;s double trap at the 2004 Athens Olympics.<span class=\"id-r-component br\" data-pos=\"58\"\/>After her performances in Aichi-Nagoya, Neeru will be one of the Indian shooters attracting attention ahead of the Los Angeles Games.<span class=\"id-r-component br\" data-pos=\"60\"\/><span class=\"strong\" data-ua-type=\"1\" onclick=\"stpPgtnAndPrvntDefault(event)\">\u2018Golden girl\u2019? Neeru loves it<\/span><span class=\"id-r-component br\" data-pos=\"62\"\/>Neeru has also earned the nickname \u2018golden girl\u2019 after her recent run of success. Asked about the title, she laughed.<span class=\"id-r-component br\" data-pos=\"64\"\/>\u201cGolden girl title&#8230; I just love it. I love this title. I hope it continues to be like this always. It was possible because of the hard work I have put in day and night,\u201d she said.<span class=\"id-r-component br\" data-pos=\"67\"\/>For Neeru, the key has been constantly looking back at her own performances and learning from her mistakes.<span class=\"id-r-component br\" data-pos=\"69\"\/>\u201cIntrospection has always helped me. Whenever I do something wrong or make mistakes, I ask myself, \u2018Where did I go wrong?\u2019 I get that answer. That helps me a lot,\u201d she said.<span class=\"id-r-component br\" data-pos=\"71\"\/><span class=\"strong\" data-ua-type=\"1\" onclick=\"stpPgtnAndPrvntDefault(event)\">Little time with family<\/span><span class=\"id-r-component br\" data-pos=\"73\"\/>After returning home with three medals, Neeru was eager to meet her parents and family and celebrate her success with them.<span class=\"id-r-component br\" data-pos=\"76\"\/>But she had only a few hours. Neeru was at her home in Sangatpura village in Jind, speaking to her mother, when she received a call that gave her another reason to return to Japan.<span class=\"id-r-component br\" data-pos=\"78\"\/>Former India shooter and deputy chef de mission Anjali Bhagwat told her that she had been selected as India&#8217;s women&#8217;s flag bearer for the closing ceremony of the Asian Games 2026. Within hours, Neeru packed her bags and headed back to the airport.<span class=\"id-r-component br\" data-pos=\"82\"\/>\u201cI got a call from Anjali Bhagwat ma&#8217;am. She asked me to be the flag bearer at the closing ceremony. It&#8217;s a big honour for me. I didn&#8217;t want to let it go,\u201d Neeru told TimesofIndia.com.<span class=\"id-r-component br\" data-pos=\"84\"\/>Her parents were delighted by the news. \u201cMy parents are so happy. When I gave them the news about the closing ceremony, my mother said, \u2018Ja beta, mauka nahi milta ye kisi ko. Aaja, phir se khushi manayenge,\u2019\u201d Neeru said.<\/div>\n<p><br \/>\n<br \/><a href=\"https:\/\/timesofindia.indiatimes.com\/sports\/asian-games-2026\/exclusive-asian-games-gold-done-neeru-dhanda-eyes-olympic-shotgun-medal-to-end-wait-since-rajyavardhan-rathores-2004-silver\/articleshow\/134668825.cms\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Source link <\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>India&#8217;s Neeru Dhanda (PTI Photo) NEW DELHI: Days before leaving for the Asian Games 2026, Neeru Dhanda was hospitalised with viral fever. She had barely any time to recover before boarding the flight to Japan. There was no proper recovery period. Just medicines, ORS, and a dream of winning a medal at the Asian Games.When [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":32115,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[31],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-32114","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-31"],"magazineBlocksPostFeaturedMedia":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/koshalsambada.in\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/asian-games-2026-shooting.jpg","medium":"https:\/\/koshalsambada.in\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/asian-games-2026-shooting.jpg","medium_large":"https:\/\/koshalsambada.in\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/asian-games-2026-shooting.jpg","large":"https:\/\/koshalsambada.in\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/asian-games-2026-shooting.jpg","1536x1536":"https:\/\/koshalsambada.in\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/asian-games-2026-shooting.jpg","2048x2048":"https:\/\/koshalsambada.in\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/asian-games-2026-shooting.jpg","blogsy-small":"https:\/\/koshalsambada.in\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/asian-games-2026-shooting.jpg","blogsy-small-tall":"https:\/\/koshalsambada.in\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/asian-games-2026-shooting.jpg","blogsy-small-square":"https:\/\/koshalsambada.in\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/asian-games-2026-shooting.jpg","blogsy-small-masonry":"https:\/\/koshalsambada.in\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/asian-games-2026-shooting.jpg","blogsy-medium":"https:\/\/koshalsambada.in\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/asian-games-2026-shooting.jpg","blogsy-medium-masonry":"https:\/\/koshalsambada.in\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/asian-games-2026-shooting.jpg","blogsy-large":"https:\/\/koshalsambada.in\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/asian-games-2026-shooting.jpg","blogsy-wide":"https:\/\/koshalsambada.in\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/asian-games-2026-shooting.jpg"},"magazineBlocksPostAuthor":{"name":"admin","avatar":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/8709732a479614e7a8aa24d3eb1b239f30dc6d90c61464ed495001e7a469d856?s=96&d=mm&r=g"},"magazineBlocksPostCommentsNumber":"0","magazineBlocksPostExcerpt":"India&#8217;s Neeru Dhanda (PTI Photo) NEW DELHI: Days before leaving for the Asian Games 2026, Neeru Dhanda was hospitalised with viral fever. She had barely any time to recover before boarding the flight to Japan. There was no proper recovery period. Just medicines, ORS, and a dream of winning a medal at the Asian Games.When [&hellip;]","magazineBlocksPostCategories":["\u0b26\u0b47\u0b36 \u0b2c\u0b3f\u0b26\u0b47\u0b36"],"magazineBlocksPostViewCount":1,"magazineBlocksPostReadTime":5,"magazine_blocks_featured_image_url":{"full":["https:\/\/koshalsambada.in\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/asian-games-2026-shooting.jpg",400,225,false],"medium":["https:\/\/koshalsambada.in\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/asian-games-2026-shooting.jpg",300,169,false],"thumbnail":["https:\/\/koshalsambada.in\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/asian-games-2026-shooting.jpg",150,84,false]},"magazine_blocks_author":{"display_name":"admin","author_link":"https:\/\/koshalsambada.in\/author\/admin"},"magazine_blocks_comment":0,"magazine_blocks_author_image":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/8709732a479614e7a8aa24d3eb1b239f30dc6d90c61464ed495001e7a469d856?s=96&d=mm&r=g","magazine_blocks_category":"<a href=\"#\" class=\"category-link category-link-31\">\u0b26\u0b47\u0b36 \u0b2c\u0b3f\u0b26\u0b47\u0b36<\/a>","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/koshalsambada.in\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/32114","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/koshalsambada.in\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/koshalsambada.in\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/koshalsambada.in\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/koshalsambada.in\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=32114"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/koshalsambada.in\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/32114\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/koshalsambada.in\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/32115"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/koshalsambada.in\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=32114"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/koshalsambada.in\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=32114"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/koshalsambada.in\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=32114"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}