Smriti Irani hails Neeru Dhanda's Asian Games shooting gold
Synopsis
BJP leader Smriti Irani celebrated Subedar Neeru Dhanda's historic double at Asian Games 2026 — an individual Trap shooting gold and a Team Silver — calling the Haryana soldier the first Indian woman to win an individual Asian Games gold in the discipline.
Key Takeaways
Subedar Neeru Dhanda won the individual Trap shooting gold at Asian Games 2026 , the first Indian woman to achieve this.
Dhanda also secured a Team Silver in Trap shooting at the same Games, giving India a gold-silver double in the event.
She is a serving soldier in the Indian Army , holding the rank of Subedar .
Haryana has a longstanding record of producing top-level shooting and combat-sports athletes for India.
BJP leader Smriti Irani posted her tribute on 29 September 2026 , describing Dhanda's journey as 'the stuff of inspiration.' The achievement is expected to inform national sports award nominations and India's shooting squad composition for future multi-sport events.
From tin cans in a Haryana village to the top step of the Asian Games podium — Subedar Neeru Dhanda has rewritten what Indian women's shooting can look like at the continental stage. BJP leader Smriti Irani took to X on Tuesday, 29 September 2026 to celebrate the shooter's landmark achievement at Asian Games 2026, calling her journey 'the stuff of inspiration.'
A first that rewrites the record books
Dhanda became the first Indian woman to win an individual Asian Games gold medal in Trap shooting — a distinction that places her in a category entirely her own. She also contributed to a Team Silver in the same discipline, giving India a memorable double from the shooting range on a single day. Irani captured the sweep in a single line: 'A daughter of Haryana. A soldier of India. And now, an Asian Games champion.'
The Haryana shooting pipeline that forged a champion
Haryana has long been one of India's most reliable nurseries for shooters and combat-sports athletes, producing competitors who have gone on to represent the country at Asian and Olympic levels. Dhanda's path — honing her eye on modest targets before advancing through the ranks of the Indian Army, where she holds the rank of Subedar — follows a well-worn but never easy road. The army's sports infrastructure has been central to bringing athletes from non-metropolitan backgrounds into elite competition, and her gold underlines that pipeline's continued potency.
What a soldier's gold signals for Indian shooting
Trap shooting has historically been an event where India has chased, not led. An individual gold by a serving soldier at the Asian Games is precisely the kind of result that feeds into conversations about national sports awards and squad selection for the Olympic cycle that follows. India's shooting contingent results across subsequent multi-sport events will now be watched with renewed expectation, with Dhanda's name near the top of every selector's list. The nation, as Irani put it, is 'immensely proud' — and the scoreboard backs every word of it.
Point of View
It is a landmark. The framing of Dhanda as both 'daughter of Haryana' and 'soldier of India' speaks to a dual identity that resonates across the BJP's core political narratives around nationalism and state pride. More substantively, an army-nurtured shooter winning gold signals continued returns on India's sports-in-uniform investment — a policy strand worth watching as the Olympic cycle approaches.
NationPress
29 Sept 2026
Frequently Asked Questions
Who is Neeru Dhanda?
Neeru Dhanda is a Subedar in the Indian Army and a competitive trap shooter from Haryana who won an individual gold medal in Trap shooting at the 2026 Asian Games, becoming the first Indian woman to achieve this feat.
What did Neeru Dhanda win at Asian Games 2026?
She won an individual gold medal in Trap shooting and a Team Silver in the same discipline at the 2026 Asian Games.
Why is Neeru Dhanda's gold medal historic?
She became the first Indian woman ever to win an individual Asian Games gold medal in Trap shooting, a landmark in Indian women's shooting history.
What did Smriti Irani say about Neeru Dhanda?
Smriti Irani posted on X calling Dhanda's journey 'the stuff of inspiration,' describing her as 'a daughter of Haryana, a soldier of India, and now an Asian Games champion,' and said the nation is 'immensely proud' of her.
Which state is Neeru Dhanda from?
Neeru Dhanda is from Haryana, a north Indian state with a well-established record of producing elite-level shooters and combat-sports athletes.
