From hospital bed to two Asian Games golds: Neeru Dhanda’s comeback story
After weeks without training and a hospital stay, Neeru Dhanda returned to win two Asian Games golds and one silver.
Ten days before making Asian Games history, Neeru Dhanda was in a hospital bed, unsure if she would be fit enough to make it to Japan. By September 30, she had two golds and a silver.
Dhanda and Kynan Chenai added a mixed team trap gold to their tally on Wednesday at the Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games, along with the individual gold and team silver, that Dhanda had won on Monday. But that does not tell the whole story. The 26-year-old shooter returned from one of the most disrupted preparations of her career, with reports suggesting that she had missed training for nearly 3-and-a-half weeks before arriving in Japan.
At the national camp, she spent a lot of time in her room and for five days, she was too weak to eat and survived on water. She spent three days in the hospital and some reports said that doctors suspected H1N1 infection, although that is not officially out in the public domain.
The national trap coach Peter Wilson said: "Neeru was out of training for three-and-a-half weeks and managed to have just a few practice sessions in Japan before the competition." Then came something that made her journey even more special.
Gold that changed the story
On September 29, Dhanda marched into the rain lashed shooting range in Toyota, Japan and etched her name into the annals of Indian shooting. She registered 28 out of 30 in the women's trap final to set an Asian Games record.
She beat China's Sun Yunong who had 26, and bagged a bronze finisher Hajar Abdulmalik of Kuwait who shot 21. Dhanda had shot 118 out of 125 in the qualifying rounds to register the best score. She made history as the first-ever Indian woman to win individual trap gold at the Asian Games. It ended India's wait for an individual trap gold at the Asian Games, which had lasted since 1978 when Randhir Singh won this event.
Earlier on Monday, Dhanda had won a silver in the women's trap team event along with Aashima Ahlawat and Manisha Keer. The next day, she was back on the podium, albeit lower one.
This time, Dhanda and Kynan Chenai beat Qatar and China in the mixed team trap final as the two nations tied at 32 and 23 respectively. The Indians had scored 34 to win gold in the 30-target match that also saw Dhanda break the Asian Games record.
So, clearly, this is no longer a hospital bed to Asian Games gold story. Dhanda had set the track for an astonishing comeback long before she landed in Japan. She not only made it despite the disrupted preparations, she virtually swept everything in her way.
The road to triumph
Her journey to this very spot in Toyota began many years ago in Sangatpura in Jind district of Haryana. She picked up shooting as a sport after watching her cousin Lakshay Sheoran win a silver medal in the men's trap at the 2018 Asian Games.
Given that shooting is an expensive sport, it might not be easy for someone from her background to get into the sport. Dhanda started with whatever means were available to her. She used to shoot at a piece of tin over a pond.
Her cousin and his family taught her everything they knew, and supported her to the best of their ability. She took up residence in Bhopal in 2019 in order to pursue shooting at the Madhya Pradesh State Shooting Academy, and progressed to higher levels from there.
She competed in World Cup and World Championship events before working with renowned shooter and coach, Mansher Singh. It was this exposure that made Dhanda a podium threat at the Asian Games.
She won the women's trap individual title at the 2025 Asian Shooting Championships in Shymkent of Kazakhstan. In July of this year, she bagged the first ever individual women's trap gold by an Indian at the ISSF World Cup, in Lonato, Italy.
She set the qualifying rounds standard of 121 of 125 before registering her finest victory yet. So, Dhanda wasn't someone who set foot on Japanese soil as an unknown quantity to Indian shooting fans.
She had already announced her arrival with a gold, and a World Cup victory. What made her win here even more special was the circumstances under which it came.
When the illness came
She may not be the first shooter to fall ill before an important competition, but the impact on Dhanda's preparations was unprecedented. While her illness pushed the start of her preparations backwards by about three-and-a-half weeks, the timing was also bad because she had a short time to prepare.
Any disruption to the training schedule of a trap shooter just before the Asian Games is always going to be a concern. Her coach Mansher Singh kept encouraging her throughout, while reminding Dhanda that she needed to focus on the things that were in her control.
But, when Dhanda arrived in Japan, there wasn't much time for her to prepare for the Asian Games. But, the preparation she did undergo, before falling ill, stood her in good stead. The victory at the World Cup in Italy in July served as a fitting reminder that her skills had not deserted her.
Dhanda's Asian Shooting Championship victory in 2025 added to that. The Asian Games, therefore, simply became the ultimate test.
Did her preparation hold against the backdrop of an extremely disrupted build-up to the event? Clearly, it had, as Dhanda went on to become a double Asian Games champion.
She won a team silver that made history, followed by an individual gold in the women's trap event to become the first-ever Indian woman to accomplish this feat. And, finally, she bagged the mixed team trap gold along with Kynan Chenai, to complete a remarkable comeback that saw her overcome one of the most challenging tests leading up to the Asian Games.
More than just a hospital bed to Asian Games gold
Neeru Dhanda made shooting history in Toyota. But her story is much more than a hospital bed to Asian Games gold narrative. Her recovery from a debilitating illness and the way she fought her way through the competition is inspirational. Dhanda's journey to this place in Toyota was not an easy one. It began many years ago when she took up this sport after watching her cousin Lakshay win a medal on the global stage.
She didn't have the best of facilities at her disposal when she picked up shooting. Like all young athletes, she had to undergo years of practice before she could even think of competing internationally.
She worked her way up to the national camp and eventually became a member of India's shooting setup. When illness struck, she was still recovering, but she knew that the road ahead would be rocky.
The illness not only pushed her preparations for the Asian Games into reverse, but it also had an adverse impact on her training. She lost nearly three-and-a-half weeks of preparation before the event.
That is arguably one of the longest preparations any Indian shooter has ever faced. However, Dhanda's determination and spirit saw her win a silver, gold and another gold.
It is a fitting reminder that she will be a force to reckon with in global shooting. While she may have arrived in Toyota with disrupted preparations, she has left with three medals.
