India continued its dominance at the 16th Asian Shooting Championship in Shymkent, Kazakhstan, with a brilliant performance on the eighth day. The shooters bagged 3 gold, 3 silver, and 2 bronze medals, further strengthening India’s position at the top of the medal tally.
The day belonged to the Indian women shooters who stole the spotlight with memorable wins in the women’s trap and junior women’s 25m pistol events. Adding to the glory, Bhavanish Mendiretta also made his mark in the men’s trap, clinching a silver medal after a close contest against a strong Chinese rival.
With these results, India now sits comfortably at the top of the championship with 50 medals so far, including an impressive haul of 28 gold, 10 silver, and 12 bronze medals. In the women’s trap event, Neeru Dhanda delivered a sensational performance to win the gold medal in the individual final. She showed remarkable accuracy, hitting 43 targets, including all of her last 10 shots. Her consistency and calmness under pressure set her apart from the competition.
Her teammate Ashima Ahlawat also finished on the podium, clinching the bronze medal, while Qatar’s Ray Basil took silver. Together, the trio of Neeru, Ashima, and Preeti Rajak combined for a dominant performance in the team event, winning the gold medal with 319 points, comfortably ahead of China’s 301.
India’s dominance was even more remarkable in the junior women’s 25m pistol event, where the shooters secured all three medals. Payal Khatri took the gold with an outstanding 36 hits, followed by Namya Kapoor with silver, and Tejaswini with bronze. In the men’s trap event, Bhavanish Mendiretta displayed grit and composure to secure the silver medal. He pushed hard in the final against China’s Qui Ying, a Paris Olympic silver medallist, but had to settle for second place after finishing with 45 hits, just behind Qui’s 47.