Lonato [Italy], July 12 : Indian shooter Neeru Dhanda clinched her maiden ISSF World Cup gold medal after producing a composed performance to win the women's trap event at the ISSF Shotgun World Cup in Lonato, Italy, on Saturday.
Neeru finished with 27 hits in the 30-target final, holding her nerve in a tense finish to register the biggest international victory of her career, according to Olympics.com.
The triumph also marked India's first individual shotgun medal of the ISSF World Cup season and only the country's second medal in shotgun events this year.
Neeru entered the medal round in fine form after topping the qualification standings with 121 points out of a possible 125. Carrying that momentum into the eight-woman final, she remained among the frontrunners throughout before setting up a thrilling battle for gold with former world champion and Olympian Carole Cormenier of France.
The contest went down to the final two shots with both shooters locked at 25 hits apiece. While Cormenier faltered under pressure, Neeru stayed composed to finish with 27 hits and secure the gold medal. Italy's Erica Sessa, a former junior world champion, claimed the bronze medal.
Paris 2024 Olympic silver medallist Silvana Stanco endured a disappointing final on home soil, becoming the first shooter to be eliminated from the medal round despite starting among the favourites.
The victory is Neeru's first individual ISSF World Cup medal and the second World Cup medal of her career. Earlier this year, she teamed up with Vivaan Kumar to win the mixed trap bronze medal at the ISSF World Cup in Almaty.
India had another representative in the women's trap qualifiers, with Manisha Keer narrowly missing out on the final after finishing 10th.
The men's trap competition, however, proved disappointing for the Indian contingent as none of the shooters advanced to the medal round. Asian Games medallist Kynan Chenai finished 71st, while Prithviraj Tondaiman, competing for Ranking Points Only (RPO), was the best-placed Indian at 32nd in qualification.
Earlier in the competition, none of India's skeet shooters, in either the men's or women's events, managed to qualify for their respective finals. The Lonato meet, the third of four ISSF Shotgun World Cups this season, concludes on Sunday with the mixed trap event.