Asian games 2026 Day 10: Neeru Dhanda ends India’s individual shooting gold drought; Parveen, Ankush in boxing finals

India’s wait for an individual gold in shooting at these Games ended on day 10. On Tuesday, Neeru Dhanda ended that wait on the trap range.

Neeru topped qualifying with 118, then shot 28 in the final, missing just two clays. That was enough for a new Asian record, with China’s Sun Yunong taking silver. It is India’s fifth gold of the Games and the first individual one. The earlier four came from women’s cricket, men’s and women’s kabaddi, and the mixed team 10m air pistol.

It was already a good day for Neeru. She had picked up team silver in women’s trap alongside Manisha Keer and Aashima Ahlawat, so she walks away with two medals.

Shooting has given India plenty of podium finishes here, but the top step in an individual event had been out of reach until now. In the men’s event, Shapath Bharadwaj made it into the final the hard way. He finished on 117 in qualification, then won a nervy three-way shoot-off against Qatar’s Mohammed Al-Rumaihi and Kazakhstan’s Alisher Aisalbayev for the last spots. India finished sixth in the men’s trap team event.

The boxing ring gave India more to cheer about. Parveen Hooda beat China’s Li Shu 5-0 in the women’s 65kg semi-final and will fight for gold. Ankush Panghal has also reached the final, which means two Indian boxers will be chasing gold. Narender Berwal was also in semi-final action.

On the track, Gulveer Singh, already a two-time silver medallist, was set to run the men’s 5000m final alongside Avinash Sable. India began the day 12th on the table with four gold, 20 silver and 21 bronze.