CHENNAI: Shotgun shooters from India have been enjoying a period of prosperity in the ongoing Asian Shooting Championships in Shymkent, Kazakhstan. Neeru Dhanda was the latest to come to the fore with a gold medal outcome in the women's trap event on Monday.
In the six-woman final that witnessed a brief pause due to power issues at the range, Neeru was in a zen mode as she consistently shot down the clay pigeons to claim the top prize with a tally of 43. Aashima Ahlawat, the other Indian in the final, also impressed to return with a bronze medal.
Towards the business end of the 50-shot final, Neeru and Ray Bassil of Qatar were the last women standing. Neeru had a handy lead but the 25-year-old from Shivpuri (Madhya Pradesh) never let her guard down. While Bassil fumbled, Neeru ensured that she capitalised on her rival's miss to extend her lead. Eventually, she finished with a perfect series of five out of five hits.
Soon after the 50th shot, Neeru let out a beaming smile and hugged her Qatari opponent. Moreover, Neeru, Aashima and Preeti Rajak, who finished 10th, walked away with a gold medal in the team event.
This certainly is a massive welcome for Neeru who had suffered pure agony not long ago. Neeru had finished fourth on Countback, agonisingly missing out on a medal during her last international competition — ISSF World Cup in Lonato — in July.
One man who was quietly watching the final unfold was Mansher Singh, India high performance manager (shotgun). Mansher's association with Neeru goes a fair bit back as Neeru has been under watch for the last five years or so. He commended the entire team.
"It was a very gritty show by all of them because the conditions were tough. The scores were not as high as we would normally experience at the Asian Championships or the big international events. The whole team adapted very well. It shows that the shooters' mental resilience is improving day by day," Mansher told the The New Indian Express from Shymkent.
Neeru has been in the business at this level for the last three years and Mansher, the former champion shooter himself, said that Neeru had gradually been showing signs of improvement over the years. "Neeru has matured into a strong shooter now. She is mentally much stronger. Her state of confidence is higher than it was before. Earlier, her scores would go up and down. But now, this year we have seen a different Neeru. She narrowly missed out on a medal in Lonato (World Cup), losing on Countback. When she came here, she had up and down competition during classification but she fought well to finish in the top-six and reach the final."
Going by her improved showing in recent times and her performance on the day, Mansher is of the opinion that Neeru has what it takes to perform during pressure situations. "Interestingly, in the finals she shot even better. She had two barrels to shoot and as we know, finals are only a single shot. The performance was even better. It goes to show that in the big moments of a match, she is progressing very well in her preparations for the finals. And the finals is everything as that's where the medals come. Keeping that in mind, she is a very strong contender when she goes into any final," he assessed.
This could be just the beginning for someone like Neeru.
Apart from Neeru and Aashima, Bhowneesh Mendiratta also rose to the occasion to capture a silver medal in the men's section. Mansher's mantra is crystal clear for the shooters. "You have to trust your abilities, you have to trust your skill sets and you have to be confident and most importantly, you have to have a quiet mind. When you shoot, you become oblivious to external factors that could affect your game."