By Shishir Prashant 
PrashantNews
India climbed to 10th place in the Asian Games medal standings on Tuesday after the women’s 4x400m relay team ended the country’s long wait for an athletics gold and shooter Neeru Dhanda scripted history with a record-breaking performance in trap.
The quartet of Kiran Pahal, Machettira Poovamma, Prachi and Vithya Ramraj clocked 3:29.69 to win the women’s 4x400m relay gold, giving India its first athletics gold of the Aichi-Nagoya Games.
Dhanda earlier in the day produced another landmark performance, winning the women’s individual trap gold after hitting 28 of 30 targets in the final. Her score set an Asian Games record, surpassing the previous mark of 24. China’s Sun Yunong won silver with 26 hits, while Kuwait’s Hajar Abdulmalik took bronze.
The victory made the 26-year-old Dhanda, a Haryana shooter, the first Indian woman to win an individual Asian Games gold in trap. Dhanda had already created history earlier this year by becoming the first Indian woman to win an ISSF World Cup gold in trap, triumphing at Lonato, Italy. She had also contributed to India’s medal haul at the Asian Games by winning silver in the women’s trap team event alongside Manisha Keer and Aashima Ahlawat.
The two gold medals on Tuesday provided a major boost to India’s campaign and helped the country move into 10th position on the overall medal table. The twin triumphs also underlined the growing contribution of Indian women athletes across shooting and athletics.
With several events still underway, India will look to build on the momentum as the Aichi-Nagoya Games enter their final stages.
